Halo - Legacy
by CaptainFox1
Summary: Happening just after the events of Halo 3, a SPARTAN-III operating on the planet Indicative is mortally wounded and captured by the Sangheili just as they learn of the Great Schism. Going against what the UNSC teaches as basic laws of war, he decides to help the Sangheili in their own civil war, and ignore the dangers of betraying his own species.
1. Sacrifice

**Chapter One: Sacrifice**

 _Planet Indicative, December 12th, 2552…_

The crackle of gunfire was a major part of the sound in the province of New Riviera, along with the occasional explosion and the collapse of a building. The Covenant attack on Indicative was one of the hardest in the war, with hundreds of thousands of troops pouring into the atmosphere of the densely-populated planet, and dozens of ships in space. I stood in a courtyard in the northern part of Ashcliff City, bordering the planet's capital city with a sheer cliff into the blue ocean waters below. Bullets sprayed from my MA5B Assault Rifle, pelting the oncoming Covenant forces driving us into a choke point between an apartment building and the cliff. I stood against the Covenant with three other Marines, ODSTs, battle-hardened soldiers who knew almost as much about the art of war as a SPARTAN.

I'm a SPARTAN, a III to be exact, one of the last ones created, SPARTAN-158, and I'm one of the last ones left. I'm fresh from Reach, and left only a few days before the whole planet was glassed by the Covenant. I don't remember who I was before I was a SPARTAN, I just know I was reborn to save what little humanity remains in the galaxy. Even to my death.

An Elite Zealot charged forth, drawing its Energy Sword with a piercing battlecry. A group of Skirmishers followed the Elite, darting back and forth with their Plasma Repeaters out and charged. Shifting my Assault Rifle to one hand, I drew my M6C/SOCOM pistol, firing both weapons into the complex shielding of the Elite, the hexagonal energy barrier shimmering over the smooth, red armor. The armor burst just as my mags ran out, and I sprinted forwards, using the boosters on the back of my armor to jump forwards to smash my fist into the stunned Elite's mandibled face, splintering the fragile bones. The Elite roared and slammed a balled hand over my back, snagging the crevice between my Commando Armor and my jumpsuit, picking me up and throwing me to the ground. One of the ODSTs jumped in, firing an SMG in short bursts at the Elite. The Elite ignored me for a moment to charge the ODST, which was my chance to jump on its back. I pulled out a second SOCOM and fired into the back of its head. The Elite fell with a heavy thud, drips of purple blood splattering the ground.

"Sir, behind you!" Another ODST yelled to me through the comms. During the brawl with the Elite, I had not been looking at my radar. Two red dots pulsed behind the yellow triangle representing me. I whirled around, my SOCOM already pointed behind me. Two Skirmishers ran towards me, firing their Repeaters in my general direction. I grabbed my combat knife from its sheath on my chest and jumped towards the Skirmishers, whose charge faltered as they saw half a ton of killing machine plummeting towards them. I plunged my knife into the forehead of one Skirmisher, slashing it out to strike the other, who jumped to the side and barked, calling two more over. I groaned and darted back, snatching my Assault Rifle from the ground next to the body of the Elite. I slapped a new clip in and fired at the three avians. One fell, four bullets slitting through its thin, feathered skin. The other two jumped from side to side, trying to evade my attack. I grabbed a frag grenade from my belt and flicked the red switch, counting to two and tossing it, giving me three whole seconds to get out of the way. Either the Skirmishers weren't exactly up to date with human weapons or they didn't see it, but they didn't move when the grenade bounced across the ground in front of their feet. I dove behind an instacrete barrier as they fired plasma bolts at me. I heard the low thud of the grenade blowing, and I peered out from behind the barrier. In the apartment building, a Jackal Sniper crawled to the window holding a Focus Rifle, its position given away from the red laser on the front of its helmet. Next to me was a DMR, and I grabbed it, quickly aiming at the oblivious Jackal who was popping a new battery into the rifle. I fired once, twice, three times, and the Jackal fell from the window surrounded by shattered blue glass. Across the courtyard, a cafe disappeared in a cloud of dust and rubble as a Wraith charge smashed into it. The large, purple Covenant tank glided over the destroyed building, the Elite gunner scanning the battleground with the repeating plasma cannon mounted on the front above the cockpit.

"Wraith!" An ODST shouted, diving behind the cover where I was, reloading his MA37 Assault Rifle with AP rounds. I nodded and handed him a grenade, standing up and firing at the Wraith. The shields flickered at the arms fire, and the pilot swiveled the floating vehicle in my direction. I cursed and grabbed the ODST by the arm, heaving him away from the wall. I knew it was too late to jump away myself, so I activated my armor-lock and hoped for the best as I heard the plasma blast surge from the main turret on the top side of the Wraith. The ground around me shuddered and broke, the paved street smashing into chunks under me. My vision was blinded for a moment by bright pink light. My armor-lock discharged, and I fell to the ground with a metallic thunk before I could put my arm out to steady myself. I pushed myself up and grabbed the DMR, sliding it over my back, switching it out for my MA5B. A few Skirmishers jumped from rooftop to rooftop above us, holding Carbines.

"Soldier, do we have any reserve Jackhammer missiles?" I asked the ODST Tech Specialist. He nodded and threw me a launcher with two missiles preloaded in it. I took aim at the Wraith first, whose shields had been weakened by persistent weapons fire, and fired. The missile streaked from the metal tube and smashed into the purple armor plating, erupting in bright flame. The Wraith, already damaged, fell to the ground from its floating state, its core blowing up as the system gave out. I smiled and pointed the launcher at the rooftop where the Skirmishers were taking aim. One noticed me and jumped back, gesturing at the others to move. Too late. I fired the missile, and the rooftop disappeared completely. The ODSTs cheered for a moment as the remaining Covenant troops looked around confused. A Spirit Gunship glided over the battle, flying towards the city center, the largest UNSC stronghold in the city. Suddenly, the gunship exploded in purple flame, pieces of it dropping to the ground. I looked behind me to see the Tech Specialist holding a smoking Jackhammer missile. I nodded to him in approval and turned back to the Covenant troops, whose eyes were glued at the fading explosion. I opened fire again with my Assault Rifle, followed by the other ODSTs. Three Jackals and eight Grunts fell before the Covenant turned their attention back to us, trying to fight back as we bested them. Two Field Marshal Elites, the leaders of this certain group of soldiers, jumped down from the second story of a building on the opposite side of the courtyard from us, both of them activating Energy Swords. They, along with the few remaining soldiers in the courtyard, charged at us blindly, falling one by one as a wall of bullets struck them.

The Covenant, especially Elites, were a lot like the ancient Samurai of Old Japan, never giving up, fighting until their last breath to uphold their leaders and beliefs. I admired them, to be honest, for their honor and persistence in battle. I watched both of the Field Marshals fall in battle, one falling heavily injured but not dead, and turning its own sword upon itself. This battle was won - here, at least, and I radioed for evac. We kept our guard up and held the position until one ODST announced he could see a dot in the distance. I looked up to the roar of a Pelican as the green dropship touched down in the center of the courtyard, kicking up a cloud of dust. Two Marines jumped from the back, checking the perimeter with their BR55 Battle Rifles. Another figure jumped from the dropship holding a prototype M6J Magnum Carbine. The person was eight feet tall and wore mechanized combat armor. A SPARTAN. I walked over to the SPARTAN and noted the dark, navy blue armor, a color not used by any fireteam before.

"SPARTAN Taylor Hall, Oh-Two-Zero. ONI Section Three." The female SPARTAN introduced, reaching out a hand. I took the hand and shook it firmly, looking her over. Her armor was of a new design, with no visor but a large jutting mechanical membrane. The word _GUNGNIR_ was inscribed in black letters in small font on the corner of the membrane under a red dot.

"SPARTAN Zachary Reynards, One-Five-Eight. UNSC ODST Special Forces." I replied, securing my MA5 next to my DMR on my back. The four ODSTs walked up to us, cradling their weapons.

"Good, another SPARTAN. You may've just won this battle, but we need all the forces we can get at the city center. I need you to come with us." She said, pointing in the direction of the distant gunfire.

"Sir!" One of the marines yelled, pointing upwards. Two Banshee Fighters were flying towards them quickly. I jumped to action and snatched the DMR, aiming through the scopes for the thin connection between the wings and the fuselage. I fired twice, breaking off one wing on each fighter. They careened to the ground, falling just short of the cliff, smashing into the limestone wall and plummeting into the sea below. Two of the ODSTs cheered and clapped.

"Nice shot." The other SPARTAN stated. I climbed into the dropship, helping my ODSTs in.

"Get us out of here." I ordered to the pilot, who keyed the engines. Hall jumped into the craft swiftly, followed by the two marines, who kept their guns pointed outside until the airlock door swung closed. The Pelican lifted off, the four engine pods pointed straight at the ground for the best vertical takeoff. Abruptly, the dropship shot forwards, jarring me from my feet, I snagged a handhold and pulled myself up, grunting in annoyance. The ship shook as a few plasma bolts connected with the Titanium-A armor plating. I glanced into the cockpit and out of the window at the battle ahead. The battle was thick with smoke, and aircraft circled around the burning skyscrapers, letting loose salvo after salvo of gunfire. The airlock door opened, and we all mag-locked our feet to the ground so we could stand without falling out. I walked to the edge, still holding the handhold while I gazed at the battle.

"Sirs, the LZ is too hot, you'll have to jump into the battle!" The pilot announced over the wind. Hall nodded and stood up, opening an overhead compartment, revealing single-use jump packs. She handed one to each of the soldiers, except me of course, since I already had boosters on my armor. The troops strapped the metal rockets to their armor, flicking a red switch on the sides to activate the crude jet system.

"Alright, jump on my mark." Hall ordered, peering out at the ground below. "Three, two, one, MARK!" She jumped first, her lithe body gliding through the air until she activated the booster, setting her down on the ground gently. Everyone else followed, jumping from the dropship. I sprinted forwards until my feet touched air, where I went into an optimal air-drop position. I watched the altitude monitor on my HUD closely, waiting for the perfect moment to boost. My armor had only a two second boost at a time before it had to recharge, and I had to time this exact. If I went too soon, I would plummet to the ground like a flying brick. If I went too late, I would boost myself into the ground and make a nice SPARTAN milkshake. The red letters went from _200 M_ to _50 M_ in half a second, but because of my improved reflexes from the SPARTAN augmentations, it seemed like two seconds. Twenty-five meters was the perfect boost point for me, with enough fall time for me to grab my weapon before I landed.

 _43 M._

 _36 M._

 _26 M._

I looked at the booster icon on my HUD, and the eye-movement recorder system picked it up, activating the single-use jet. I was jolted into an upright position, and I swiftly grabbed my MA5 and SOCOM, going into a battle position as my feet hit the ground. The hydrostatic gel took most of the impact, and I darted forwards when my body was attuned to the ground again. I had landed behind enemy lines, and behind a tent. Only a single Grunt noticed me as it waddled to the front lines holding a plasma pistol. It barked, and I killed it with the silenced SOCOM. Peering behind the fence, I looked over the front lines. Four Wraiths, eight Spectres, and fourteen Ghosts lined up and pouring fire over the fortified UNSC stronghold. I saw the other soldiers, including Hall and my ODSTs behind the UNSC barriers, beginning to open fire on the Covenant attackers. I heard movement inside the tent, and the heavy breathing of an angry Elite. I bolted back behind the fabric just as it burst through the curtain door holding a Plasma Rifle. It sniffed at the air and looked around the corner for the source, to be met with a hand down its throat. It's cries were suppressed by the battle and my hand, and I threw it to the ground. I punched it repeatedly, bringing down its shields with my bare hands. I got out the SOCOM and fired once into its forehead, silencing it for good. I looked around to see if anyone had noticed me. I scoured its body and found and Active Camouflage cartridge, which I took because they are very useful in battle, and two Plasma Grenades, which I could use to take down the Wraiths. I activated the Camouflage and crept behind one of the Wraiths, activating a grenade quickly and sticking it into the exposed exhaust vent on the back, sprinting away quickly before the camouflage ran out. I ran into an alleyway and heard an explosion followed by alarmed barks and screams. A fire ladder was on an apartment building bordering the alleyway, and I went up it, taking three steps at a time. I kicked open a window on the forty-second floor and clambered in. I was at eye-level with most of the air battle, and I ducked as a flaming Banshee barely missed me and crashed into the side of the building ten feet across from me, falling to the ground in smoke. The inside of the room I had gotten into was dark, with furniture and small items like paper and glasses strewn across the floor.

I rounded the dark corner leading to the door to see a Grunt bending down over a dead human completely oblivious to my presence. I grabbed its head and snapped it to the side, killing it instantly. The body was of a civilian male in his mid-twenties to early-thirties, he was holding an non-military type M6C in his limp hand, and a Needler crystal was sticking out of his chest, mostly exploded. He was leaned on the wall next to the door, which was blood splattered and dirty. I kicked open the door and blew into the hall, to be met with nothing. There was some smoke near the ceiling, bodies and rubble on the floor, and a Covenant Vampire support fighter lodged in the building at the end of the hallway, burning. Crawling over the Vampire, I peered out from a moderately-sized crack between the fighter and the remainder of the wall at the ground battle. I took out my DMR and looked through the scope at the Ghosts and Spectres. From this height, I could snipe the drivers without being in front of it, which would not be the best course of action. I put in a new clip of AP rounds in the gun and took aim at the Grunt and Elite drivers. I fired four times, killing four soldiers. The hovering crafts floated to the ground, and the surrounding Covenant looked around in confusion. I reloaded and fired again at the other vehicles. Four more floated down. Now for the hard part, the Wraiths. Wraith tanks had two weak spots. One being to hijack it and stick a grenade on the exhaust like I had down for the first one, or to hit the exhaust from a distance, which was optimal for me at the moment. It took two shots to open the port, and one to destroy it. I looked away from the scope and down my leg, where I had magazines clipped to my armor. Eight left. That means I would have enough to knock out the last two Wraiths on the front lines. I looked through the green-lit scope at the back of the Wraith, searching for the glowing purple hole on the armor plating. There! I fired three times, the bullets going out of the barrel faster than a Battle Rifle, and the first Wraith exploded into a million flaming bits. The second whirled around, firing a plasma burst at the opening where I was. I jumped back as the outside of the building exploded, and the Vampire slid out of its stationary position to the ground below. The hole was now, of course, bigger - the Vampire had made quite a significant hole - and I only had two options of what to do. One was to stay here and try to take down the Wraith from the front and most likely be obliterated, or two, to find a way upstairs and catch the Wraith by surprise from a higher vantage point.

I chose the latter, and ran back into the hallway, dodging another blast from the Wraith's cannon. A staircase was on the opposite end of the hallway, leading upstairs. I sprinted up the creaking metal stairs and burst into the next floor. Two Grunts waddled in my direction, stopping when they spotted me, pulling out their Plasma Pistols in surprise. I fired twice with the DMR, killing them. In ran to the window on the far side, exactly above the one where I had been. I broke a small hole in the window and slid the barrel of the DMR out of it, setting the scope to a slightly farther range. The Wraith scanned the side of the building once more before turning back to the battle, where it was still being pelted with bullets. I aimed at the back and fired thrice more, destroying the fragile exhaust vent and overheating the core almost instantly, blowing up the purple vehicle. Without the support of the Wraiths, the Ghosts and Spectres were knocked out quickly since all human weapons fire was concentrated on them now. I kicked out the window completely and scaled the wall down to the ground, jumping off from the twelfth floor and landed in the middle of the battle. I kicked down a Grunt I ran past and jumped over the barricades, almost running right into SPARTAN Hall.

"Was that you that took down the tanks?" She asked me, still firing on the Covenant behind me. I nodded silently and whirled around, swapping my DMR for my MA5 in a millisecond, opening fire in full-auto at the alien soldiers. She shrugged and lobbed a grenade, blowing up one of the remaining Spectres. A Phantom dropship fell from the sky above as one of the vertical boosters blew up, smashing into the Covenant lines.

"All soldiers, charge!" A Marine Sergeant yelled to the small amount of troops at the Ashcliff City capitol building. The Army and Marine group charged forth, overwhelming the stunned and dazed Covenant troops as they tried to fight back. They were cut down easily by our weapons, and from strafing fire by Hornets overhead. I jumped an Elite Ultra as it ran for a rack of weapons, wrapping my hands around its neck, pulling it back. It let out a gurgling sound and elbowed me in the stomach. I loosened my grip slightly and it wriggled free, whirling around and grabbing me by the throat, lifting me up. I tried to get out by kicking and lashing out with my arms, but the Elite just swatted the attacks away. It grabbed its Energy Sword with one hand from its belt, while the other hand tightened around my neck. Darkness clouded the outer edges of my vision, but I did see the Elite stare me straight in the eye, its reptilian pupil unwavering as it sought for my eyes through my helmet. All that was running through my head was _I'm going to die!_ and _I need to get out!_ The Elite plunged the superheated sword into my stomach and twisted it. I cried out, but I couldn't even hear myself over the pain. I could feel my blood running out of my blood vessels, but being stopped as it was instantly cauterized by the plasma. The Elite pulled off my helmet and nodded to me slightly, so slightly that it would be invisible to anyone else but me. It lowered the sword, and I slid off the blade to the ground with a sickening thump. As I fell, the sword caught on another part of my body, but I didn't notice as I fell into unconsciousness.


	2. The Alliance

**Chapter Two: The Alliance**

 _Ashcliff Mountains, New Riviera, Planet Indicative, December 15th, 2552…_

I awoke suddenly, bolting upright and instantly falling back in pain. The pain turned into a low hum in my stomach, and hurt like hell. I looked around with my blurry eyes. I couldn't feel neither my legs nor my left arm. I braved a look down, fearing the worst. My legs were fine, but a tube of anesthetic was barring my nerves from receiving pain. My arm, though, was what I had feared. From the forearm forwards was a robotic hand, connected with wires and metal to a healing stump. I heard a low rustle from the outside of the room I was in, which I failed to notice was a corrugated steel shack with medical equipment in it. I looked to the open door to see a figure step in, stooping in the low doorway. The bright sunlight from the outside silhouetted the figure, shrouding it in shadow, but I could tell what it was from its shape. An Elite. I scurried back against the wall, ignoring the deep pain on my arm and my stomach. The Elite flared its mandibles at me and walked closer, being careful not to get too close, because it seemed to know that I was a SPARTAN with superhuman abilities and could kill it easily. But, it also sensed that I could not kill it in my current state without mortally wounding myself. The Elite kneeled before me, ignoring my movements to get away, and held me there, examining my wounds.

"Your injuries will not kill you, and your prosthetic is adjusting to your small human arm. Your stomach wound will heal with this." The Elite pulled out a small pack from his belt, removing a strip covering adhesive. The pack, which I already knew to be some sort of Covenant bandage, was the size of the front of my abdomen, and the Elite gently pressed it on my skin. It had to have been some herbal mix, because I felt immediate relaxation from the torn muscles in my stomach.

"Why have you not killed me yet?" I asked, truly curious as to why the gigantic alien had not murdered me. As was already known from past campaigns across the galaxy, the Covenant never took prisoners, but rather fed them to the Brutes, Jackals, and Skirmishers.

"Because, we Sangheili have learned that our leaders have betrayed us, and that you are not our actual enemy, they just didn't want humanity in their way to destroy all life in the galaxy." The Elite said quickly.

"And so you decide to save the most dangerous enemy to you? A SPARTAN?" I said. It was true, if I were in the Elite's position, I would kill the SPARTAN even if it was on our side for my own personal protection.

"You are our most valuable asset, SPARTAN. Your leaders do not accept us, and the other soldiers of yours we have tried to talk to have gunned us down. You were the only one in a position for us to talk to reasonably." The Elite explained. To be truthful, the Elite sounded genuine. And it all made sense. The ODSTs and Marines on Indicative - hell, even the other SPARTANs - would not know about this inside issue with the Elites, but because I was injured and unconscious, they were able to take care of me and later talk to me without the worry of me pulling out a grenade and rocket launcher and killing them all. And, as I said earlier, I was in no position to make a run for it.

"What did you do to me while I was unconscious?" I said warily, still not wanting to be completely trusting of the eight-foot-tall alien.

"We performed a simple surgery on you to stop from your stomach fluids from damaging the rest of your body and from bleeding out completely. Your stomach is sealed, and your blood vessels will soon be fully healed by the herbal pack I have placed on you. Your skin has been plasma sealed, and the scar will fade in the next few months." The Elite stated, looking upon my wounds once more.

"Well, if I am to speak to your leader or something like that, I must say that I need clothes." I asked, only then realizing that under the thin medical cover, I was completely in the nude. The Elite nodded and stood up, walking to the door and barking to a nearby soldier. The soldier, already knowing he was going to be called upon, nodded and walked to another building, coming out a few seconds later with what looked like a human version of Sangheili Major combat armor.

"In your sleep, we fitted you to an armor set. If you are wearing this armor and donning that helm, you will be seen as apart of the Swords of Sanghelios." The Elite said.

"What happened to 'The Covenant'? Where'd this 'Swords of Sanghelios' come from?"

"With the betrayal of the Prophets, the Sangheili refuse to be looked upon as part of the Covenant, and want to be recognized by our millennia-old military title, the Swords of Sanghelios. Now come, you must get dressed and be fed, the Field Marshal awaits your arrival." The Elite said, holding out the armor, jumpsuit, and helmet to me. I nodded and grabbed the clothing, dressing myself quickly by using the Elite's armor as a guideline for how I should look.

Elite armor was quite simple, and only involved a few very strong magnets and the activation of a plasma core on the back of the armor on the 'hump' of the backplate of the set. The leg armor was much like SPARTAN armor, and only needed to be wrapped around the leg and strapped into place.

"Are you ready, human?" The Elite asked. I looked up after sliding into the left boot of the armor, complete with the two-toed section on the Sangheili foot.

"Yes." I said, still eyeing the large warrior carefully, looking for any out of place movements.

The Field Marshal's tent was on the opposite side of the clearing, guarded at the entrance by two Honor Guards holding Energy Staves. They looked at me and growled softly as the Elite led me into the purple-tinged tent. The Elite waved the two guards off, and pushed open the fabric flap of the tent, pushing me gently inside by the small of my back.

"I see, 'Sacleous, you have brought the great warrior you speak of." An Elite said from the center of the room. This Elite was taller than the one next to me - who I also think is 'Sacleous - by over a foot, and wore the elaborate, glowing armor of an Elite Field Marshal.

"I have. He is here to speak with you about his new… conditions." 'Sacleous replied officially, looking down at me at the last part. I raised an eyebrow, but shrugged off my doubt and stepped forwards.

"Zachary Reynards, SPARTAN Commander of the Three-Twelfth ODST Special Forces Battalion." I said, looking the giant Elite in the eye.

"Mizume 'Zehirae, Field Marshal of the former Fleet of Persistent Solidarity." The Elite replied, his stiff stance softening for a split second. "I trust that 'Sacleous explained what happened while you were unconscious?"

"Yes, I did explain about the betrayal."

"The good-for-nothing Prophets that we believed in with our lives destroyed our trust in a single day when the Brutes sided with the Prophets and began murdering our brothers!" 'Zehirae exclaimed, clenching his fist in anger.

"And, although my people may think me betraying them, I will help you." I said. I had already made up my mind on this matter before it even came up. I had been in a situation like this before, back when I still was in training on Reach, and I knew what the consequences would be if the UNSC found out about me helping an alien race responsible for the killings of over a trillion human beings, but I knew what they were going through in a way.

"Are you sure? We all know that if you went back, you would be executed. Your honor and legacy would be tarnished forever. You would be branded as a traitor."

"I know."

"You know? Well, if you're going to truly help us, I guess I must bring you with me to where you are really needed." 'Zehirae announced, walking past me to the guards outside, speaking quickly in Sangheili to them. The guards nodded and yelled to an Elite pilot sitting next to a Phantom dropship. The pilot jumped up and ran into the Phantom, preparing it for launch quickly. It rose off the ground slowly, and the side doors opened outwards.

"You will be brought to the flagship in orbit, and transported to the planet Therisalli, the Swords of Sanghelios staging world." 'Sacleous said to me quietly. I nodded in understanding. He turned to me and grabbed me by the shoulder. "You will also need these on your travels." From his magnetic back clamp, 'Sacleous pulled off a Carbine and Energy Sword, handing them to me. I accepted the gifts and nodded.

"Thank you."

"It should not be seen as an act of thanks, but as an act of honor between men." 'Sacleous said to me, pushing me towards Mizume and stepping back into the tent. The Field Marshal waited for me halfway between the tent and the Phantom.

"I see he has supplied you with weapons. I will trust you not to kill me, but if you do, just know that my men will stop at nothing to find you." 'Zehirae said, looking at me closely. I said nothing, but he knew that I understood. We boarded the Phantom quickly, and it lifted off.

* * *

 _Ashcliff City, City Center, December 12th, 2552…_

"Zachary!" I yelled. I watched as an Elite Ultra plunged an Energy Sword into the SPARTAN Commando's abdomen, throwing him to the side and charging into battle again. I fired at it with my M6J furiously, downing its shields and pelting its armor with bullets. During this, I failed to notice an Elite Zealot pulling SPARTAN Reynards' body off of the battlefield and into a Spectre, quickly driving off down an alleyway. I fired at the oncoming Grunts and Jackals, and threw a grenade at a large group of them.

A Marine Sergeant led a charge against the Covenant flank, coming up from behind to surprise the Covenant soldiers. But suddenly, the Brute Chieftan defending the other Sangheili in the team put a hand to his helmet comm, nodded, and turned on the Elites, smashing his Gravity Hammer down on his Elite brethren, killing all of them at once with the gravity blast from the specialized hammer. The Grunts and Jackals also knew what was happening, and suddenly, the battle became very one-sided, and the Elites made their escape, running into buildings and taking Ghosts and speeding away.

After the Elites were gone, the battle was won easily, but I still wondered why the Brutes, Grunts, and Jackals had suddenly turned on their superiors, superiors who, as had been seen in countless battles before, ruled over their underlings with an iron fist.


	3. The Servant of Recompense

**Chapter Three: The Servant of Recompense**

 _Planet Indicative, Sword Assault Carrier Servant of Recompense, December 15th, 2552…_

The Phantom dropship sped out of the atmosphere quickly, breaking through the thin clouds and into the ever darkening blue sky leading to the barrier of space. Even from in the atmosphere, I could make out the pale purple line that was a Covenant Assault Carrier. The pilot took us to orbit and zoomed us around the carrier, speaking in Sangheili to the air traffic controllers on the Carrier.

I took a moment to look at 'Zehirae and thought for a moment.

"You know I can't forgive you for what your species did to mine." I said frankly, knowing that he was thinking the same thing.

"But of course that would be the first thing to cross your mind. And I understand. I can sympathize. In just a few days, the false Prophets have killed as many Sangheili on our worlds as all of your humans during the course of the war." He paused for a moment. "Whole fleets, whole worlds, and billions - even trillions - of Sangheili were wiped out by the superior San'Shyuum fleets."

"How? Your weapons should be equal to theirs!" I exclaimed, not understanding.

"You misinterpret the power of the Prophets. Behind our backs, and even blatantly, they created far superior technology and ships using the great knowledge of the captured Oracles and the Huragok from the Forerunner Installations."

"They lied."

"They used their power to manipulate us; they said that the creations were for simple personal protection, but even without our spies telling us, we knew they weren't telling the full truth. They had planned this ever since the Jiralhanae were first discovered on their wretched homeworld." 'Zehirae explained, his eyes closed in deep thought. "For this betrayal, my brothers - led by me - will charge forth and have our vengeance on the heretics we thought Prophets."

"I will help you, but you must know that I will strike if I believe myself in danger."

"Understandable, that is why 'Sacleous gave you the Energy Sword, so that we may have an honorable duel." Mizume said.

"Field Marshal, we are docking now." The pilot announced, peeking his head from around the cockpit chair. 'Zehirae nodded and turned to me again.

"I will lead you personally to a room, and you will be left to your own devices. I have already notified my people of your coming, and you will not be bothered. In five hours, I will call upon you for the next part of the plan."

"Understood." I replied simply. I was still uncomfortable allying with the Elites, but I expected I was not the only one.

The room was a small one in a Sangheili's eyes, but for me, it was triple the size of my officer's quarters on the _UNSC Mare Imbrium_. It had floor to ceiling windows that overlooked a row of plasma cannons and a communications mast, and was illuminated by the bright tail light a few yards down from the room. In the corner was a long bed, a bench, and a small rack for weapons. A closet on the opposite side of the room had a hook for each part of the Sangheili armor, with a small compartment under it for more weapons and an active camouflage unit.

Mizume had left me here over two hours ago for me to settle in. I took this time to look over what was in the room and just to simply relax. Although there was the fact that there were now not one, but two wars going on, I still had a very serious wound, and had to calm myself down. I had set my helmet and my weapons in the closet, and I was practicing meditation on the bed.

But, as could be expected, clearing my head at the moment was almost impossible - too much was going on for me to be at complete peace. Actually, the simple thought that I was in non-aggressive company with the enemy was keeping me from taking a short nap. What I was feeling right now was as if I was experiencing an adrenaline rush and a caffeine high at the same time, and it was quite annoying, especially to a SPARTAN - feelings and impulses from the body were amplified exponentially during the SPARTAN augmentations.

I was thrown from my thoughts with a knock at the door. Getting up from the bed, I walked to the purple, wall-sized door and pressed a button on the panel immediately to the left of the door.

"This is 'Zehirae, I have come to speak to you." The Field Marshal's unmistakable deep voice said from behind the door. It was early for him to come, by over an hour, but I wasn't complaining. I just needed something to _do_ , and if it involved planning out a possibly decade-long war, even better.

I opened the door and grabbed my helmet, facing Mizume fully.

"Hello, Field Marshal."

"And to you, warrior." 'Zehirae replied. "My advisers in the war room request your assistance. It is not something you would want to miss, especially with your… history with the Covenant."

I raised my eyebrows and nodded, following the Field Marshal as he turned to walk down the hall.

"It involves me?"

"Yes, it does. We need your help with a Jiralhanae pack that has taken over the remnants of the Fleet of Unrelinquishing Justice and is ravaging the Sangheili colony worlds."

"If by Jiralhanae you mean the Brutes, then this will be easy. Especially with the weaponry advancements the Sangheili have over the humans." Mizume simply nodded and led me forwards.

We rounded a corner into a corridor bustling with Elites, and even with the armor and the presence of the Field Marshal, the Elites shot searing glares at me and I heard whispers around us. I looked to the ground at my two-toed boots, and wondered if the Sangheili and humans could ever coexist.

"Go inside the door here and introduce yourself to the Fleetmaster and the Councilors. I'll be back." 'Zehirae said, his hand resting on his energy sword.

"Right." I replied, opening the door to the war room/bridge.

Instantly as I stepped in, there was an uproar from the Sangheili, and a few stood up and drew their Energy Swords, charging at me. On reflex, I pulled out the Energy Sword 'Sacleous gave me and activated it, parrying the swordsmen's precise strikes. Being trained intensively in close range tactics on Reach, their attacks were easy to counter. There were three Elites in total attacking me, striking on one front. When one would falter, another would take its place. My arm was moving at lightning speeds to counter the powerful blows from the superheated swords. In one move, when one of the Elites struck, I brought my sword up and blew the sword from his hand, my blades barely missing his hand, and cutting his sword hilt in half. The other two Elites stepped back on the offensive as they saw their teammate kneeling on the ground in surprise.

"Enough!" A tall Elite in black armor bellowed to me and the three other Elites. We all lowered our swords and deactivated them. The Elite in black walked up to us. "I have already witnessed my brothers dying in battle, I shall not witness them die on my own ship by infighting."

"But Fleetmaster, he is a human, a demon no less!" One Elite yelled.

"And he wears the armor of us! This is heresy!" The second Elite shouted.

"The only heretic I see right now it you, calling one of our own a heretic and traitor… Had it not been during a time when I need all the men I could get, I would have your head." The Fleetmaster said, getting right into the face of the second Elite.

"B-but…"

"And for you…" The Fleetmaster gestured to the Elite on the ground, "you are a disgrace of a swordsman. You were three to one, and you could not win? Either this human is a prodigy swordsman, or you are the pitiful depths of my ranks."

"I am sorry about this, Fleetmaster." I said, making eye-contact with the Fleetmaster.

"There is nothing to be sorry about, warrior, for it is my men who were out of line. I should thank you for teaching my soldiers their rightful place." The Fleetmaster said, shooting a glare to the Elites standing next to me.

From the front of the bridge, the rest of the bridge crew around the room and the Councilors gathered at the holographic table spectated closely at both their superior and the human newcomer.

"What is going on?" Mizume asked annoyedly, coming into the door behind me.

"Three of our men attacked another."

"But he is human! He is not one of-" The Sangheili was cut off as the Fleetmaster swiftly grabbed one of his mandibles, snapping the fragile bone.

"He wears our armor and comes in peace, he at least deserves basic respect." The Fleetmaster ordered, pointing to the door. The injured Elite nodded quickly and ran out of the door, his honor tarnished and his image broken. The Fleetmaster turned to me and looked me over.

"Fleetmaster." I acknowledged, standing at attention.

"So you are one of the great demons that our brothers have spoken of. I find it both an honor and a disgrace to meet one in person." The Fleetmaster said.

"Likewise, sir." I replied. The Fleetmaster was unfazed and turned to walk to the holographic table, gesturing me and Mizume over. After that, the bridge went back to normal.

"Our new war effort is faltering because of the Jiralhanaes' unorthodox attacks on different fronts. We've lost over five fleets to the Jiralhanae-controlled Covenant armada." The Fleetmaster announced. "Our main staging area on Therisalli is our last stronghold before Sanghelios itself. We need your help in planning a defense."

"I can do that, I just need a three-dimensional map of the system."

"Already up there." The Fleetmaster stated. As he had said, above the holographic table being projected was a 3D map of a planet and its moons. I walked over to it, under the gaze of the four Elite Councilors and pointed to the main planet in the center.

"This is Therisalli?" I asked for confirmation. The Fleetmaster nodded, so I continued. "How long is its daily cycle and when does one of its moons eclipse it?"

"Its daily cycle is seventeen hours and the next eclipse is from that moon there," he pointed at the largest of its moons, "in two days."

"That's when the Brutes will strike. I suggest sending up part of a fleet with stealth operations units."

"And why is that, human?"

"The Brutes thrive in the dark, and they will - I assure you - send out teams to make camp on that moon. And then, when the moon is eclipsing Therisalli, they will send those teams in in the shadow of that moon. I've seen tactics like these from them before on the Outer Colonies."

"You're sure?"

"Positive, I'll bet - if they have the barest of information on this system - that they're already coming." I announced. The Fleetmaster's eyes widened along with the Field Marshal's.

"Kisama, send eight stealth battalions to Ceresa, take the corvette _Saint's Sun_. I need you to get the battalions in there within the hour. We and the rest of the fleet will jump to slipspace very soon, I need the men ready as soon as we drop out of slipspace." Mizume ordered a Major Elite next to him. The Elite nodded and ran out of the bridge barking orders to Stealth Elites already in the hallway.

"Human, if you want to go with the Stealth Battalions, I will allow you." The Fleetmaster stated, staring me down.

"I will go." I answered slowly. I wanted some payback on those Brutes, and fast.


	4. The Assault on Ceresa

**Chapter Four: The Assault on Ceresa**

 _Planet Therisalli, Sword Corvette Saint's Sun, December 15th, 2552…_

The Assault Carrier dropped from slipspace with alarming speed, and, as 'Zehirae had ordered, the _Saint's Sun_ had dropped from the kilometer-long hangar bay just as fast. The corvette, specially fitted to get battalions quickly in and out of assaults with extra fast engines and quite durable armor, sped towards the moon of Ceresa at what seemed to be Mach Twelve. The corvette made two small slipspace jumps, and made it to Ceresa within fifteen minutes. The small moon was devoid of life, and in climate was most similar to Luna. The surface was a pale tan color, and was made up of coarse sand. Unlike a desert, however, the planet's temperature was thirty-five degrees below zero. The only thing on the planet created by the Elites were millenia-old wreckage of ancient space battles or the slipspace markers for pinpointing the moon.

"All warriors, prepare your blades and load your weapons, prepare for an air jump. Active camouflage should be turned off until the human tells us." The Major standing next to me ordered the twenty blue-clad Elites standing behind us. The room we were standing in was the airdrop room, a large room big enough to hold a division of soldiers with a wall sized door on the end. The door opened up to the outside, and allowed for every soldier to jump out with ease.

"As soon as we're on the ground, activate camouflage and stay together. Divide the troops into squads if you have them. If not, divide them now." I ordered hesitantly, not wanting to… _overstay my welcome_ by ordering them around. The Major nodded and turned to the soldiers, barking something to them in Sangheili. The soldiers all saluted and got into groups of four.

"Soldiers prepared."

"Good. What's the time to the drop zone?"

"Twenty-two seconds." The Major reported. I nodded and popped a cartridge into my Carbine, slinging it over my back. I then checked that my Energy Sword had full charge, and that the plasma concentrators worked fine.

" _Drop point in ten seconds, mark!_ " The shipmaster of the corvette announced over the ship wide comm.

"Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, doors open, three, two, shields down, one, MARK!" All of the soldiers charged out of the open door as I yelled 'mark.' Knowing that we all had jets on our armor, I got into a dive position as we fell to the ground. The corvette had dropped us seventy-thousand feet in the air, and we wouldn't have to activate the jets until we reached only five hundred feet. The Elites all got into a steady dive - their legs straight behind them and their arms at their sides - and into formation, so that when they hit the ground, they would instantly be in position.

"Twenty-five thousand… Twenty thousand… Fifteen thousand… Ten thousand…" The Major muttered into his comm.

"Five thousand." I announced. The numbers quickly dropped, and in mere seconds, it was at six hundred. I activated my booster jets, swinging myself into an upright position, and glided to the ground slowly, along with the other sixty Elites in the battalions.

"All warriors accounted for, prepared for battle." The Major reported to me. I nodded and pointed in the direction of the sun coming over the horizon.

"Knowing Brute tactics, they'll use the star's glare to get into the system without us visually seeing them. Radar, though, will find them. This is Zachary Reynards to _Saint's Sun_ , keep scanning near the star, overlap of ten degrees." I ordered.

" _Acknowledged, Major."_ The Shipmaster replied. " _Wait, hold on. We're getting something on radar, heading one-five-eight by seven-two-zero. Orbital deviation of twelve point five degrees. The object is approaching at mach eight."_ I raised my eyebrows in surprise. I looked up into the thin sky at space, and saw in the distance a glowing dot.

"Major, another object! Jiralhanae ships!" The Stealth Major announced. Indeed, just below the glaring light of Therisalli's star were four purple-glowing lines. I raised my finger to the comm.

"Shipmaster, can you identify the origin of the first object?"

" _Checking now… It's from out of system, and it isn't Sangheili in origin. It looks… human."_ Said the Shipmaster, hesitation in his voice. I looked up at the glowing dot, breathing out.

"Sir, the Jiralhanae are launching dropships." The Stealth Major said, grabbing my shoulder and pointing at the four Brute ships.

"Break the men into eight groups and send two groups onto that ridge over there. One squad will head due north for two miles to set up a hardened comms unit and radar array. The other three, follow me." I ordered. The Stealth Major deactivated his camouflage and raised his arms, calling the soldiers over.

"'Kseve, send your men north, set up a comms booth for constant communication. 'Tsuta, 'Korus, send your men to the Archer's Line. D'Suvai, 'Kfara and I will follow Reynards." I jumped in surprise at understanding the Stealth Major. Noticing my surprise, he looked over at me. "We auto-installed a translator a few minutes ago."

" _Yes, Major. Alright, we're- wait, what? Sir, I'm getting a reading on an object coming into the gravity well at mach twenty._ " The Shipmaster announced. Indeed, as I looked up, a fiery object streaked across the sky from one horizon to the other.

"Shipmaster, track that object, I want information on it." I asked, looking in the distance and rising smoke from the impact point.

" _We're getting some readings now. It looks… like a human ship. But only half of one, the front._ " The Shipmaster reported, his voice hesitant as he said it.

"I'll send a scout team to check it out, I need you to keep an eye on the crash site. If you see any form of movement, tell me."

" _Yessir._ "

"Okay… Stealth Major, you take up command of this operation. Call back one of the squads from the ridge, I'm going to scout the crash site with them."

"Alright. D'Suvai, fall back to the drop point, you're being reassigned with the Zealot Major."

"Zealot Major?" I asked, still a little curious about the Sangheili ranking system.

"The armor you wear, it is red and has the scales of the Morolaath adorning it. You are of the Zealots and you outrank all of us but the Fleetmaster and the Field Marshal." The Stealth Major said, his yellow eyes flicking along my reddish armor. I nodded and looked over at the smoke in the distance.

"Question. This is just a guess, but, do you think anyone could survive that crash?"

"It depends on what happened to the ship in the first place. And, it matters what species. A Sangheili? We could easily survive that. A human, though, maybe not. But then, miracles can occur."

"A very good point." I muttered. A Stealth Squad walked up to us silently, their camouflage deactivated. In the front was an Elite Zealot Minor.

"You called for us, Stealth Major?"

"Yes. The Zealot Major will take you to scout the crash site. The other squads, led by me, will head to the Archer's Line and set up camp."

"Yes sir! May the Forerunners guide you." The Zealot said before turning to me.

"Let's go, then." I said, walking in the general direction of the site.

"Sir, take a Spectre, it will be a faster trip." The Stealth Major said, pointing to a group of small vehicles that were dropped along with the Stealth Battalions.

"Okay then." I said, climbing into one of the Spectre transports. The Zealot got onto the back gun, and the other six Elites climbed onto the sides, hanging on by the many handrails adorning the smooth purple armor. Once they were all on board, I pushed on the throttle. The craft leapt forwards and sped over the flat rocks that made up the ground.

"I'll bet that the crash site is over this hill!" D'Suvai yelled over the whirring of the Spectre. The smoke had indeed gotten thicker in this area, and the putrid smell of burning fuel and metal.

"Alright. Someone here, scan the area for survivors. The cryotube section on the bow of the ship would be a likely place for surviving crewmembers." I announced, bringing the Spectre to a halt. We all got out of the vehicle to walk over the hill, and, as was said by D'Suvai, the mile-long crash site of the human starship was embedded deep in the ground.

The actual ship was only about nine hundred meters long, but it had skidded along the ground, creating a mile long, seventy-foot deep indent in the rock.

"You two," I pointed to two of the Stealth Elites, "head to the aft of the ship. Me and D'Suvai will head to the bow. If you have anything to report, say it immediately."

"Yes, Zealot." The two soldiers replied in unison, running out into the wreckage. I gestured for D'Suvai to follow me, and we ran down the hill towards the front of the craft.

The ship looked similar to a frigate, but it was too hard to really discern because it was burning, and the markings were blackened and smudged. Pools of liquid metal and stone lined the scarred land, and plumes of steam and smoke billowed into the thin atmosphere.

"Can you do a heat scan of the area?" I asked, pointing at the front of the frigate. D'Suvai nodded and pulled out a small device, pointing at the charred metal.

"Anything?" The Elite nodded his head.

"The very front, there's a slight heat signature that isn't flame." D'Suvai pointed at the very top of the crashed ship, at a small observation deck on the top of it. Cracked and shattered windows lined the black metal walls of the deck, and a thin line of steam trickled out the openings.

"Extension cables?" I asked. D'Suvai nodded and got out two ropes.

"Use your energy dagger for the end."

"That's… where?" D'Suvai pointed to the end of my ark above my hand.

"Take that off and attach it to the end of the cable."

"Right." I slid the deactivated knife off of my hand and tied the end of the black metal cable to it. I activated it, and threw it up to the topside of the frigate. Testing it, I climbed to the side of the human ship, clutching the cable tightly.

"You take that window. I'll head in through this one." I said, pointing to two of the broken windows. D'Suvai nodded and got into position.

"Ready, Major?"

"On my mark. Three, two, one, MARK!" I grabbed the top of the window and threw myself in feet first, landing in a crouch on the floor. It took me a moment to get situated, since the ship had crashed at a twenty-degree angle. D'Suvai walked over and helped me up.

"So, do I scan again?" I looked around after his question. The room was lined with cryotubes, and all but two were destroyed. One was offline and empty, but another was on and completely frozen.

"No need, we've already found what we're looking for. Call the others back." I said. D'Suvai nodded and put a finger to his comms.

"'Desa, 'Nera, fall back to our position, we've found what we need." D'Suvai ordered.

"So, want to crack the case?" I asked. D'Suvai nodded and walked over to the cryotube. He reached over to the keypad, his fingers hovering over the keys.

"Major, I can speak your language, but I do not yet understand the written form. You will have to do this." D'Suvai said, looking over at me. I nodded and walked over to the keypad, punching in the simple UNSC clearance code to get into basic systems. It brought up a status screen of the person inside. _Rivers, Cynthia H._ was what the name section read in bright blue letters. Under that was a large button labelled simply as OPEN. I pressed the button and watched in anxiety as the door hissed with decompression and lurched open.

"D'Suvai, stand back. They might act hostile." I said, watching as the frozen person inside began to thaw. The person coughed and sputtered as their throat thawed.

"W-who…" The person, Cynthia, croaked out, her bloodshot eyes tracking across me. When her eyes finally landed on D'Suvai and the other Elites coming through the window, she cried out weakly and fell unconscious. I scooped her up, but paused as I hear the signature whirring of a Covenant Phantom Dropship and the war cry of a Brute. I handed Cynthia's limp form to D'Suvai and pointed to the window.

"Quickly! You three, get her back to the camp! I'll hold the Brutes off." I ordered, grabbing the Carbine from my back. D'Suvai nodded and jumped out the window, pausing to look back at me.

"May the Forerunners guide you, Zealot Major." He said. I nodded, and he slid himself down the side of the frigate, careful not to drop Cynthia. I looked upon the alien warriors with respect and turned back, looking for where the Phantom landed. Running to a window, I spotted the large purple craft hovering two meters off of the ground. With the Carbine, I had a range and height advantage, and I could easily snipe them as they dropped from the ship.

" _Major! We're off! Good luck!_ " D'Suvai said through the comms. I put a finger to my comm, but instead of going to D'Suvai's channel, I turned to the _Saint's Sun_ 's comm channel.

"Shipmaster, I need orbital fire support on my coordinates!"

" _But Major! That will kill you!_ " The Shipmaster yelled. I looked down on the Brutes, who were grouping together as a pack.

"I'll be deep inside the ship. Do it now, Shipmaster, do it now!" I said, pushing open a bent door at the end of the room and running into the crooked hallway. I sprinted through the corridors as fast as my augmented legs would carry me, trying to get to the middle of the ship. I dodged half-pipes and mini-rivers of molten metal, and slid down an elevator shaft. Above me, I heard the loud bangs of the plasma rounds raining down on the crash site. Panels of metal crashed to the ground, and I had to stop moving unless I wanted to fall through the floor. I also heard the faint, pained cries of the Brutes as they were incinerated.

" _We've successfully taken out the Brute scout team! But, in orbit, we are now engaging the enemy!_ "

"What are the odds?"

" _We're outnumbered two to one, they have two frigates!_ "

"Okay. Hold back and provide fire support for the Seraph squadrons. We'll get the package and the men back up to orbit, and we'll jump back to Therisalli, where we can regroup with your fleet." I said.

" _Good plan, we'll be in touch._ " And with that, the Shipmaster flipped off his comms. I looked around the hall for an opening to the outside.I looked over and kicked a weak wall, the metal panels creaking open, revealing the outside. I slid down the plasma burned hull of the ship to the ground, where I sprinted to the wreckage of the dropship. Right next to the crashed Phantom was a Ghost, which seemed to be functional. I ran over and got onto it, seeing if it still ran. It did. I accelerated out of the crash site and up the hill back towards the main camp.

In the distance, I could see the small encampment set up by the Elites, and I pushed the Ghost to its limits to reach it. A Phantom, colored red, burst through the clouds and touched down at the site. Knowing I was going too fast to slow down, I jumped off of the Ghost and started sprinting to the camp. D'Suvai, who was cleaning a Carbine, looked up at saw me running towards him at full speed, and called to the other Sangheili.

"Major! You made it! Good job with the corvette idea!" D'Suvai called as I slowed to a halt. The Ghost skidded along the ground next to me, and fell to the ground in an unceremonious crash.

"Thanks. How's the person doing?" I asked, referring to Cynthia. D'Suvai looked over to one of the tents and shrugged.

"She is still unconscious, but she is stable. The herbal packs seem to be helping." He announced. Suddenly, my comm rang with static.

" _This is Field Marshal Mizume 'Zehirae to Zealot Major Reynards, do you read?"_

"I hear you loud and clear, Field Marshal."

" _Good. What's the situation on Ceresa?_ "

"We've encountered the Brutes, and have found a survivor to the crash site."

" _What crash site? Oh, nevermind, give me a report when you get back._ " Mizume said rushedly.

"We'll be back soon, give us a few minutes."

" _I'll expect to see you in the hangar. Mizume out."_ I nodded and turned to D'Suvai, who walked into the ventral lift beam of the red Phantom. I floated up into the Phantom and was soon followed by the other Stealth Elites.

"Pilot, get us out of here!" I yelled to the cockpit. The Phantom lifted off and sped to orbit, flying quickly to the hangar of the _Saint's Sun_ , which was engaged in a long-range firefight with the Brute ships. I got out of the Phantom and sprinted to the bridge, which was only a few hundred feet away from the hangar.

"Zealot Major!" The Shipmaster saluted, standing at attention.

"At ease. Are we prepared to jump to slipspace?"

"Yes sir."

"Then get us out of here." I ordered. The corvette did a full one-eighty and jumped to slipspace, speeding faster than light towards Therisalli. We were only in for a few seconds before we came back to real-space.

Hovering around the planet was a fleet rivaled only by the High Charity fleet, and was the biggest I had ever seen. Hundreds of ships packed the geosynchronous orbit of Therisalli, and fighters flew in swarms from ship to ship on patrols. In the center of the fleet was the largest ship, _The Servant of Recompense_ , which was a CSO-class Supercarrier, and was seventy times larger than any of the other ships in that fleet.

"We are now docking with the Supercarrier." The Shipmaster announced, typing something into a console next to him.

"I'll head to the hangar again."

"Whatever suits you, sir." The Shipmaster said. I nodded and walked down the hall again, bracing myself as the corvette made a rough docking with the Supercarrier. A docking tube extended into the hangar, the airlock on the end opening to reveal three figures. One was Mizume, the other the Fleetmaster, and the third was an Elite so tall that he had to stoop in the Elite-sized hallway, which was already eight feet tall. Spotting me, the Field Marshal walked over.

"The Imperial Admiral wants to speak with you, Major. This concerns a matter greater than my life or honor." Mizume said, gesturing to the tall Elite. I looked him over. He was wearing bright chrome armor that had glowing blue lines running over it, and had a crimson cloak clipped to his shoulders. He wore two Energy Swords on his hip, and had on an elaborate headdress that extended much higher than his head. The headdress fanned out with gold highlights, and had a bright red symbol in the center of the metal fan.

"Imperial Admiral, sir." I kneeled, having seen other Elites to it to superiors.

"Rise, Zealot Major." I rose and looked the Elite in the eye. "We need soldiers like you. Stealthy, quiet, and most importantly, genius. Can you help me train special soldiers for our ranks?" I nodded and put a hand to my chin. _This is getting interesting…_


	5. Defensive Maneuvers

**Chapter Five: Defensive Maneuvers**

 _Planet Therisalli, Sword Carrier The Servant of Recompense, December 15th, 2552…_

I trailed behind the Imperial Admiral in silence, watching the nine-foot-tall warrior as he brought me down the kilometer-long corridor. The hallway was pretty much empty, excluding piles of crates containing food and ammo strewn about. The corridor we were in, if my studying of Covenant ship architecture was correct, was a simple storage deck, with hundreds of storage rooms lining the long hall. I decided to break the silence.

"So, how many soldiers are we talking about?"

"Six. They're the best of the best, and were trained personally by some of the greatest Sangheili leaders. Xytan 'Jar Wattinr, Thel 'Vadam, and I have spent years training these men." He paused. I took this moment to ask what I thought was a simple question.

"In all of our research about the Covenant in the past decades, we've noticed that Elite names always ended with the '-ee' suffix. We knew The Arbiter as Thel 'Vadamee, and The High Imperial Admiral as Xytan 'Jar Wattinree. What happened to that?" I asked. The Imperial Admiral jumped back with a surprised hiss.

"That suffix signifies our alliance with the Covenant Empire. We never use that after our names unless we are allied with them, which we are strictly not! It is an insult to call a Sangheili with an '-ee' at the end of his name, human." He stated, sounding very annoyed. I nodded.

"I'm sorry, please continue."

"Yes… well. These soldiers were originally going to be trained for the Zealot Class, and would be used to go on stealth missions into enemy territory, much like your later SPARTAN soldiers."

"The SPARTAN-III Headhunter squads, I remember those guys."

"Indeed. Well, as we were just about to send out the first patrol to a remote Sangheili colony to snuff out a rebellion, the Great Schism occurred, and the Covenant went to hell after that."

"So you want me to finish their training?"

"Yes. They were not yet ready for stealth combat against humans, and are definitely not ready to fight against the Brutes. We need… a human touch to it."

"I understand. So where do we begin?" I wondered, looking down the seemingly abandoned hallway all the way into the distance.

"At the very end of this hall is a small room that we've converted into a training area for the-" He was cut off as the Supercarrier shook violently.

" _Imperial Admiral! Zealot Major! Get to somewhere safer, we're under attack from a small Jiralhanae fleet!"_ The Fleetmaster yelled through the comms. The ship shook once again, harder, and I ran to the nearest window. Outside, a CCS-class Battlecruiser - dwarfed by over seventy times by the Supercarrier - was trying to broadside the ship. It didn't even get the shields to ninety-nine percent with its weapons before the Supercarrier eviscerated it with its point defense plasma cannons. In the distance, ten more battlecruisers jumped in, all opening fire immediately.

"Quick, human, we must get the men!" The Imperial Admiral ordered. I nodded and sprinted ahead to the last door, which was cleaner and had no crates surrounding it. Noticing movement, the sensors opened the door, revealing a well-used training room. Six eight-foot-tall Sangheili stood in the room talking to each other. They looked up at me when the door opened, not saying anything as I walked in, followed closely by the Imperial Admiral. One of them edged his hand towards his Energy Sword, and I moved my hand towards mine in preparation for if they decided to strike. The Elite, noticing my movements, moved his mandibles into what looked like a smile.

"Well trained, unlike the other humans I have had the chance to see." The Elite remarked, examining me closely. "Why have we not killed him yet?" I didn't take offense to that. It was a valid question from the Elite's point of view.

"He has joined the Swords of Sanghelios, and has pledged to aid in our war effort."

"A human?" The Elite replied. This one Elite seemed to be the leader of the group, because the others were looking at him not as a friend, but as a superior. The glint in the other's eyes held great respect for their leader.

"Yes, a human. But not just any human. What he is, well, you may have heard of his kind. The SPARTANs."

"A Demon?! Here?!" Even with his self control, his honor got the best of him, and the Elite lunged forwards with his Energy Sword drawn. I activated mine and raised it, parrying his first strike against my neck. Unlike the other duel on the bridge, this one had two meanings. One was the plain one, that he hated me and wanted to kill me, but the other was more hidden. This was a test. A test for the Elite for the Imperial Admiral to see if he had trained them to standard, and to me to see if I was good enough to lead the Imperial Admiral's men. The Elite jumped back and held his Energy Sword in a stance.

"Your move, human." The Elite said, looking me in the eye. We began to circle around each other, keeping our eyes locked, waiting for the other to move first. We circled each other for over thirty seconds before I noticed a slight movement from the Elite. He was edging himself closer to me with each step, and lowering his Energy Sword ever so slightly in preparation for his next attack. And, within the next ten seconds, he leapt forwards once again. I ducked under the first attack and blocked the second as he came around again. He swung at me with surgical precision, and it was getting hard to see his movements anymore. So, trying to confuse him, I deactivated my sword and ran back and jumped against the wall, boosting myself off of it. I jumped over him and to the other side of the room, reactivating my Energy Sword.

"You're good, I will admit." I said, trying to get him to attack again, but he didn't budge. He stood watching me once again with his Energy Sword hilt braced against his hand. So I crept forwards, my sword held up vertically against my chest. My turn. I jumped forward with my Energy Sword pointed in front of me. He blocked my sword from hitting his chest, and it instead plunged into his shoulder. The Elite cried out and dropped his sword, clutching his wound as it dripped purple blood onto the floor. I deactivated my sword and placed it on my belt, looking at the Imperial Admiral.

"You got him to drop his sword. You won." The Imperial Admiral said, clearly surprised. I nodded and walked over to the Elite, helping him over to where he was sitting at first. He growled at my touch, but allowed me to move him back to his comrades. _The Servant of Recompense_ shook again as plasma torpedoes smashed into the shielding surrounding the Supercarrier.

"We must go to a safer location, this room is too exposed to the battle." I announced.

"Indeed." The Imperial Admiral said, looking at me. The other Elites, helping their leader up, walked to the door and down the hall, follow by us. We ignored the violent shaking of the ship as we speed-walked down the kilometer-long corridor, and kept our pace even as injured soldiers from the gun emplacements ran past us to the storage rooms for medical supplies,

"The dining hall is in the safest place." The lead Elite said, glaring at me.

"That's three floors up." Another one of the Elites said. I nodded and ran to the nearest elevator at the end of the hallway. The door was already open, and I helped all of the Elites in. The Imperial Admiral punched something in, and the elevator rose up. In a few seconds, it stopped and the door opened to a bustling and loud dining hall-turned armory. A young Elite Minor ran up the Imperial Admiral and kneeled.

"Imperial Admiral, the Brutes are boarding the ship, we are preparing the dining hall as a defensive point." The Elite uttered, not looking up at the Admiral. The Imperial Admiral looked down on the Minor with what seemed to be annoyance, and breathed in deeply.

"The heretics have boarded us? Then we will deliver them our wrath. Bring me to the main battleground."

"Yessir." The small Elite scampered up and gestured us to follow him. He led us down the main hall and to what looked like an auditorium. In the room, Brutes charged in through the entrance with their Gravity Hammers aided by shielded Jackals. On the side we were led into, Elites and Skirmishers fired relentlessly in the crowd with plasma rifles and plasma repeaters. Stealth soldiers crept along the rafters of the room completely invisible to the Covenant. They jumped down with their swords drawn behind enemy lines and charged in, pushing the Brute lines back into the doorway. After doing this, they dashed back as an Elite with a Fuel Rod Cannon fired into the hall.

"They're breaking through the wall there!" An Elite yelled, pointing to one of the walls. The Brutes, continuously hammering the wall away, broke through the resilient metal in mere minutes, and stormed through with a piercing battle cry. At the front was a tall Brute Chieftain who I recognized. Izakus was a very dangerous Chieftain who had been sought after by the UNSC for years.

"I'll take care of this." The Imperial Admiral said, clutching his Energy Swords, activating them. His mandibles flared, he ran into the battle at a blinding speed, raising his Energy Swords in front of him. He quickly cut down eight Brutes as they tried to react, swinging their Gravity Hammers blindly at the blur cutting through their ranks. Izakus, taking notice to the Imperial Admiral, braced himself and raised his Gravity Hammer to block the inevitable blow. The Imperial Admiral lunged forward and swung his energy swords in an X and cut through the Gravity Hammer, the pieces falling to the ground with a thunk. Izakus roared out and activated arm shields, which resembled Jackal shields. He used these as weapons, thrusting the heated plasma at the Imperial Admiral relentlessly, who countered with quick thrusts with his swords.

"Riflemen! Cover the Imperial Admiral!" An Elite Minor yelled, pointing at a large group of Brutes running to aid their leader. A line of Elites holding Carbines ran up, firing in unison at the Brute pack. They fell one by one, their bodies coating the floor in purple-blue blood.

"I need to help him!" I yelled, pointing to Izakus. He, because of his immense size and strength, was steadily overpowering the Imperial Admiral with his arm shields. I sprinted to the Admiral with my sword drawn, blocking a sudden blow from Izakus as he saw me coming. The Imperial Admiral ducked behind me for a second to catch his breath before jumping back, pulling me with him.

"Do you have a plan, human?"

"He's heavily defended from the front, as you know, but from what I already know, his peripheral vision was blinded in a battle long ago. Go in from the side, I'll distract him!" I said, running us in circles around the enraged Brute. The Imperial Admiral nodded and broke off, jumping behind a crate. I ran towards Izakus and captured his attention, swinging my sword at his energy shields. The Imperial Admiral crept around the crates, dodging plasma fire, and watched me. I got it so that Izakus was facing me and was unaware of the Admiral behind him.

Brutes were smart, but not too smart, when something else captured its attention, it forgot what had just happened. Izakus completely forgot about the Imperial Admiral, and focused purely on me. This gave the Imperial Admiral the chance to clasp onto Izakus's back armor, swinging himself up onto the humongous Brute's back. Izakus swung wildly, trying to get the Imperial Admiral off of him. The Admiral yelled and plunged his two swords into Izakus's back. The Brute fell to the ground silently, the energy shields deactivating. I dashed into the battle to fight the other Brutes, but looked back at what happened next. The Imperial Admiral walked over to Izakus's head and kneeled, looking at his face. Izakus snarled, but was not able to move because he was paralysed.

"And so ends the reign of a false king." The Imperial Admiral muttered, raising his Energy Swords, bringing them down on Izakus's head. "May you burn in a thousand hells."

"Imperial Admiral, Zealot Major, the Fleetmaster is calling you back to the bridge. Your men are already there." An Elite Major yelled from across the hall.

"They had left us?" The Imperial Admiral questioned, surprised.

"Your injured soldier had collapsed." The Admiral nodded and ran back to the entrance to the dining hall, ducking under hails of plasma, and into the doorway, followed by me closely behind.

"How can the Fleetmaster summon you? Aren't you superior?"

"I cannot order anyone on a ship that is not my own. I am only here because my flagship was destroyed at High Charity. I am at the Fleetmaster's disposal." The Imperial Admiral said, continuing his brisk pace along the purple corridor. We headed straight, through four sets of doors, and to an elevator, up a floor, and back to the doors that led to the bridge. The Imperial Admiral knocked on the sealed bridge door.

"It is I, Tsutar 'Te Misakan, and the Zealot Major." The Imperial said loudly, knocking again. _His name?_ I thought. The door hissed and opened, revealing a readied Honor Guard, who moved to the side with the sight of us.

"Good, you have come, Imperial Admiral." Mizume said, stepping towards him from the holographic table. The Fleetmaster followed closely behind, clutching an Energy Sword hilt.

"I must congratulate you on the win against Izakus, but the Brutes have also brought something aboard that has slaughtered a whole battalion near the secondary hangar." 'Zehirae said, standing at attention next to the Imperial Admiral. Tsutar stood regally and looked down on the Field Marshal.

"I will bet my honor that they brought Mgalekgolo." The Imperial Admiral said, his face scrunched up in frustration and thought.

"Yes, only a Hunter could take down an Elite battalion." I said, my arms crossed.

"Indeed. Even a Brute chieftain would be overpowered by Stealth Sangheili, but a Hunter has enough armor to destroy buildings with a single blow." Mizume remarked, bringing up an old video file on the holographic table of a Hunter knocking down an apartment complex.

"Do you have weapons capable of destroying its armor?" I asked, looking at a weapons rack on the far end of the bridge. The Fleetmaster shrugged.

"A Focus Rifle could melt through the strongest of metals, but would require stealth and a long firing range. It's pretty much useless up close." He said, walking over to the rack and pulling one down. The rifle was long and looked like a version of the beam rifle with a stubby stock. The Fleetmaster handed it to me and flipped a small switch on the top, lights on the charge counter and along the barrel turning on. I shouldered it and pointed it at the wall. It felt surprisingly light in my hands, considering it was built for use by Elites and not humans.

"You can fire it, that wall is really not needed." Mizume said, gesturing at the wall. I shrugged and aimed, the purple holographic scope rising up from a projector above the charge counter. The magenta reticle was pointed directly at a small beam in the center of the wall, and I held down the trigger. Unlike a beam rifle, it was a continuous fire weapon. If you held down the trigger, the beam kept going.

The beam melted through the wall in seconds, and slightly into the next. My finger jumped from the trigger and I dropped the weapon, as it was so hot it was starting to burn through my dark purple gloves. The Imperial Admiral laughed and walked over to me, examining my hands.

"You overheated it." 'Misakan said, picking up the steaming weapon. "Don't fire it so long."

"Yeah… you could have told me that."

"And I thought humans were _studying_ our technology!" The Fleetmaster said, laughing. The Imperial Admiral threw me the weapon once again, and I took aim at the wall, firing for half a second. The wall still melted slightly, but it didn't overheat, just warmed slightly in my hands. I smiled and turned to Tsutar, who grabbed another battery from a small satchel and walked over to me.

"To reload this, pop out that circular part that spins when you fire." He pointed to the piece just in front of the trigger. "Hit the button, let it pop out, and slide a new one in. To lock it in without it falling out accidentally, push that part up." He gestured to the part under the battery, which unhinged when the used battery slid out. I pushed up the unhinged section until it snapped into place.

"Good?"

"Yes, you reloaded it." He pointed to a circle on the topside behind the scope. "When that turns red, reload it."

"Right."

"So, now that you've learned how to use it, let's head down to the Mgalekgolo." Mizume said, grabbing three more Focus Rifles off of the wall, tossing two to Tsutar, who handed one to the Fleetmaster. 'Zehirae flipped the switch so his was active, and walked out of the door, followed by the Fleetmaster, the Imperial Admiral, and me.

The ventral side of _The Servant of Recompense_ was covered mostly in hangars and weapons systems. The bombardment cannons, large plasma cannons used to fire on planets, sat unmoving on the bottom of the ship, the Elites who would usually man them preoccupied fighting Brutes and the incoming Hunters. We made our way down a collapsed elevator shaft to the very bottom floor of the ship and down a long corridor leading to the ventral hangar bay, where over two thousand Banshee flyers were housed for atmospheric invasion. I ran up to the Fleetmaster with my Focus Rifle in hand.

"So, how did they board us?"

"They got on board through the shields as we fired our cannons on their cruisers, when the shield goes down to let the plasma out. Their boarding craft are small enough that they could get through the small gap before it closed once more." The Imperial Admiral answered, walking up to me. I nodded and pointed to something lodged into the hull on the floor above us.

"Is that a boarding ship?" I asked. The Fleetmaster nodded. Suddenly, the floor shook, and we all stopped in our tracks.

"That wasn't the Jiralhanae ships firing on us, that was isolated." He paused. "Hunters."

The floor shook again, and from between the thin spaces between the purple metal floorboards, worms began to slowly come through.

"Lekgolo! Shoot the floor!" The Fleetmaster yelled, firing his rifle at the floor. The metal platform melted… into space. The atmosphere inside the hall was quickly sucked out, along with us. The other three pushed a button on the side of their helmet to activate a mask that enclosed their face. I reached up quickly with the hand that wasn't holding my Focus Rifle and found the button. I pressed it, and a transparent shield enclosed over my face, and air filled the small space. I took a deep breath and tried to orientate myself. I looked 'up' at the underside of the Supercarrier, at the mass of Hunter worms swarming around the armor. I fired with my Focus Rifle, blasting off a good portion of the worms into space. But, in doing that, I blasted myself further away from _The Servant of Recompense._ About twelve kilometers behind me, a flaming and mostly destroyed CCS-class Battlecruiser was on a crash course with the Supercarrier. I flipped myself around, firing with the rifle, boosting myself back towards the Supercarrier, which was beginning a lateral roll. Near _The Servant of Recompense_ , Elite Cruisers were coming forwards to fire on the Brute Fleet, firing wave after wave of superheated plasma into the Brute lines.

I got myself into a flight position with my arms against my sides as I flew towards the hull of the humongous starship. Bracing myself, I smashed into the magenta metal, creating a dent. Because the Supercarrier was rolling, I had actually crashed into the topside of the ship, just above the starboard primary hangar. I tried desperately to grab onto something, but Covenant surfaces were built very smooth, and there were no handholds within a seventy foot radius barring the shield projector, which, if touched the wrong way, could down the whole shield system for the carrier - which was something that I would not do. Wait! I reached down to my belt to check if my Energy Sword was still there, which it was. I grabbed it and activated it, plunging it into the hull. It hissed as it slowly melted through the metal, but stayed. I was jarred from my constant freefall to a sudden stop, and I had to get my feet onto the hull to steady myself.

"Zealot Major? Zealot Major, is that you?" I heard a voice call to me over the comms. To be such a clear transmission they had to be very close to me. I looked around me and saw the Imperial Admiral walking towards me, his boots magnetized to the surface of the ship. His crimson cloak flowed behind him, creating a crest of sorts.

"Yes, Admiral 'Te Misakan, it's me. Where are the others?" I asked. The Imperial Admiral, who had come up to me and held me in place, looked down.

"Sadly, the Fleetmaster was hit with a piece of shrapnel, and we lost his signal in the battlefield." He said, pointing to the fierce melee around the Supercarrier. "We must go, there is an airlock near here that leads to an armory." I nodded and looked around.

"Where is it?"

"You're standing on it." He said. I looked down to see what he was talking about. I hadn't noticed it because I was trying to find an obvious airlock, but there was a small incision was embedded in the armor plating of the Supercarrier. I removed my Energy Sword from it, and it hissed and slid open, revealing a shielded door. The sword passed through the shield, so I assumed it would allow me to pass through. It did. Suddenly, it went from zero gravity to Earth-like gravity. My torso still floated in space, but my legs dangled 'downwards' inside the ship as I reached out to help Tsutar in. I let myself fall to the ground inside the ship's corridor, and got out of the way as the Imperial Admiral climbed down the ladder.

"Where's Mizume?" I asked.

"He hijacked a Seraph and flew to the secondary hangar." 'Te Misakan answered quickly. He raised his Focus Rifle and fired at something behind me. I whirled around to see a Brute standing there… without a head. It fell to the ground with a wet thunk, and I slowly walked away from it.

"We should regroup at the second hangar and then get to the bridge. We can't lose the bridge." I said. The Imperial Admiral nodded and walked over to a panel on the wall.

"I can get a comm link up to the hangar from here and we might get a reply from the Fleetmaster." He tapped a few buttons, and suddenly static rang out. "This is Imperial Admiral 'Te Misakan to Field Marshal 'Zehirae and Fleetmaster 'Churoiya, hailing on all frequencies. Do you copy?"

" _-oes anyone copy?! I repeat, this is the UNSC Saint Peter Port to any ships! Does anyone copy?! We have wounded aboard!"_ Came a sudden and frantic reply. I ran over to the console to see the identification code for the comm message. It was, as the speaker stated, the UNSC Destroyer _Saint Peter Port_ \- _UEGS-09837_. I knew that name. Was it from my past? Before I was SPARTAN Zachary-158? I had only found my last name from a vague record of myself many years ago, but I never remembered my past before I was a SPARTAN.

The name Saint Peter Port meant something to me, and I was going to find out what.


	6. A Whisper in the Night

**Chapter Six: A Whisper in the Night**

The Covenant had taken Indicative. And of course, we were trying to reclaim it, but it was a losing battle. The barbaric Brute tactics were beating back the frail fleets of the UNSC. And I, Cynthia Haskins, was stuck on the front lines in the smallest ship in the battle. Covenant ships surrounded the _Enceladus_ , and blasted its engines out just as we tried to head to slipspace. I had ran all the way to the bow and gotten into a cryotube when the majority of the ship depressurized. I don't know what happened next, but my frozen dreams were interrupted by something I thought I would never see again. Another person.

" _Major, I can speak your language, but I can not yet understand the written form. You will have to do this."_ A rough voice said. I knew my cryotube was starting to defrost, because I was beginning to enter that space where I was half-asleep and could somewhat hear my surroundings.

" _Stand back, they might act hostile."_ Another voice, more pleasant, said. I heard the taps of buttons and the sound of the thaw sequence. I felt the frosty cold around me disappear, and I opened my eyes. The door slid open, and I collapsed to the ground, weak. I looked around, first seeing a person. They were dressed… like an Elite, and held Covenant weapons.

"W-who…?" I sputtered out, not able to speak yet because my vocal cords were still half-frozen. I looked behind the person to see three Elites standing there holding Energy Swords. I jumped back - too fast for my recuperating body - and fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

 _Planet Therisalli, Sword Carrier The Servant of Recompense, December 15th, 2552…_

The run to the secondary hangar was a short one, and we didn't encounter any Brutes along the way, a fact I tried to pass off as luck, but I still had a bad feeling about it. We were being led into a trap. The Imperial Admiral ran ahead with both his swords activated, and check the hallways as we passed them, just in case.

"The hangar is just ahead, through that door." He said, pointing to a large door at the end of the hall. I nodded and pulled out my Carbine, preparing for any enemies inside the hangar. Before we pushed through the door, we stopped to listen to the inside. From behind the door, we heard the distinct crackle of plasma fire, and the pulse of a Carbine.

"The Field Marshal." I said, pressing buttons on the control panel next to the door to get it open. Eventually, the magenta panels slid open, revealing an intense battle. Elites, led by a worn and battered Mizume 'Zehirae, were jumping across the tops of Seraphs hanging from the ceiling behind the Brute lines, dropping plasma grenades onto the infuriated barbarians. The Field Marshal, noticing the two of us running through the door, called down.

"Admiral! Major! We could use your help at the Banshee launch!" Mizume yelled.

"The Banshee launch?" I asked Tsutar over the sounds of the battle.

"The launch rails for the Banshee fighters on the far side of the hangar. That's a two kilometer run." He replied quickly, snatching up a Plasma Rifle from a dead Brute.

"We can do it, let's just get up there with the rest of them first. It will be a safer trip." I said. The Imperial Admiral nodded and began to walk to a ladder near us when we were stopped by a voice.

"You'll get killed up there, follow me." I looked behind us to see the woman we had saved from the frigate, Cynthia, standing there holding a Carbine and wearing armor identical to mine.

"Where did you come from?"

"The air ducts." The Imperial Admiral nodded in admiration.

"Smart. A Sangheili or Jiralhanae would not be able to fit through, but a human could." He paused. "I will stay here and aid Mizume in his fight. You and the human girl, go on ahead to the Banshee launch." I nodded and ran to Cynthia.

"I know that we're both technically UNSC, but I really hope you trust me." I said before pulling her along with me.

"I can't trust the Elites, and I don't know if I can trust you, but I'll follow along because I can't do anything else!" She yelled. I smiled.

"The air ducts up there?" I asked, pointing to a grate on the ceiling. She nodded, and I climbed up, replacing my Carbine with the Focus Rifle, firing on the grate. It melted, and I jumped in after it cooled. She climbed up and got in as well.

"So, we're heading to the far side of the hangar?" She asked, clambering forwards in the confined space.

"Yes."

"Well, I came from that side, so I should know the way."

"Most likely." I said, putting the Focus Rifle on my back next to the Carbine.

" _Brother, do you hear something?"_ I heard a voice say, muffled by the layer of metal we were on.

" _Yes, it sounded like a human."_ They sounded like Brutes.

" _Impossible! On this ship?_ " The other one said. I was sitting on a grate, so I scooted over and lifted it up, grabbing a plasma grenade from my belt. I activated it and dropped it down on the head of one of the Brutes. I cried out in the split second before it exploded, sending blood splatters and discharged plasma everywhere.

"We must hurry. If the Brutes already are in these halls, then there may be Grunts or Jackals in the air ducts as well." Cynthia said, crawling forward.

The duct system in this part of the ship was very complex, because the hangar needed to be aired out constantly because of exhaust from the plasma engines of the Covenant ships. The air ducts were thick with a powdery, foul-smelling smoke that smelled of powdered eggs and wood fire.

"How much farther?"

"We're only using the ducts to get past the Brute lines, we can kick out the grate just ahead." She whispered, pointing down at another pair of Brutes walking past. These ones didn't notice us, and we were too close to the pack to take them out safely, so we quickly went on to a grate ahead. This time, I kicked it out and jumped down back into the hallway. We were parallel to the hangar, and were near a large doorway.

"From when I came here earlier - I didn't go down here, mind you - that was an armory, I heard the Brutes talking about raiding it. We can get some extra firepower there." Cynthia said, pointing to the door. I nodded and went to the side of the door, peering in. It was open, and I could see the racks and racks of weapons and armor. A dead Elite lay against a bench in the center of the room, but the room was empty other than that.

"Come on." I said, walking quickly into the armory. I walked over to one rack and pulled down a satchel of plasma grenades, sticking three on my belt. Walking to another, I grabbed some more ammo for my Carbine and batteries for my Focus Rifle. Then, stepping over to the rack next to it, I paused. On it were four Needle Rifles, rifles that fired explosive crystals that blew up on impact with organic substances. It could be very useful against Brute armor, because Carbine rounds could bounce off easily, but the needles would instead track the exposed sections of skin on the Brutes without me even aiming. I sighed and set down my full Carbine on a bench, snatching one of the Needle Rifles. In a compartment next to the rack, there were packs of needle rounds. I grabbed four and stuck them to my belt next to the grenades, grabbing another and loading it into the rifle. Upon putting in the magazine, the Needle Rifle switched on, the holographic scope winked to life, and lights turned on along the barrel. The gun hummed lightly in my hands and was slightly warm.

"What is this?" Cynthia asked behind me. I turned around to see her examining what seemed to be a version of the Elite armor, but it was black and looked much different and much sleeker than the other armor sets around it. Next to it were two Energy Swords, which I walked over and grabbed. Turning it on, I was surprised not to see the typical blue blades, but bright red ones. I switched it off and set it on the rack again.

"Whatever it is, let's leave it alone." I said, not exactly wanting to know the person who needed such large armor. I slung the Needle Rifle over my back and walked to another rack. I grabbed a Plasma Rifle and put it on the back of my belt.

Suddenly, I heard rustling from outside the door. Cynthia heard it too, and she ran over to me quietly, both of us ducking behind one of the benches. I got my Plasma Rifle ready as something came through the door. I jumped up with my Plasma Rifle drawn. The figure jumped back in surprise.

"Zealot Major! You're alive!" Now it was my time to jump in surprise. Before me stood 'Sacleous, the Elite that saved me on Indicative.

"Major 'Sacleous?" I said, looking him over. 'Sacleous nodded and lowered the Plasma Repeater he was holding.

"We must go. We must head to the Banshee Launch. We can't lose it."

"Do you know where the Imperial Admiral is?" I asked, wanting to know his peer's status.

"The last time I saw him, he was fighting a Brute Chieftan on the top of a Seraph. I ran here to get a Fuel Rod Cannon to help him out." 'Sacleous said, running a hand along his mandibles.

"I hope he's okay…" I said, adjusting my helmet.

"He should be, he was trained since he was just a boy in hand-to-hand combat."

"Okay, but still. I need you to grab that Fuel Rod Cannon and hurry back, and we'll continue on to the Banshee Launch." I ordered, looking 'Sacleous in the eye. He nodded and ran over to one of the weapons racks, pulling down a gigantic Fuel Rod Cannon. I turned to me, nodded his head and jogged out the door.

"Best of luck to you, Zealot Major." 'Sacleous said, pausing before he sprinted down the hall back to the battle. I turned to Cynthia.

"Grab some grenades and weapons quickly. We need to get out of here. No doubt what you said earlier is true. The Brutes will try to raid this armory." I said, pointing to the walls covered with weapons. She nodded and snatched up a Plasma Repeater and a satchel of plasma grenades. She kneeled down to adjust her Sangheili-armored chestplate, and then walked out the door. She motioned for me to go to her, but held up a finger to her mouth. _Quiet._

" _An armory, you say? Then we must take it!"_ I heard a Brute yell from down the hall. I came up to Cynthia and peered around the wall slowly. Standing there were two Brute Chieftains, walking lazily with their Gravity Hammers drawn. I looked back at Cynthia and smiled, unsticking two grenades from my belt. Cynthia knew my plan already - it was a standard UNSC tactic against Brutes - and nodded, grabbing two of her own grenades from the satchel slung over her shoulder. I held up three fingers, then two, then one. I dashed out and yelled to the Brutes.

"Hey! Over here!" I yelled, hoping to catch their attention. It took them a moment to understand what was going on, because they weren't expecting to be interrupted, but the Brute Chieftains then realized and roared out. They activated their Gravity Hammers and charged. I charged as well, activating the grenades simultaneously. As the Brutes drew closer, preparing to attack, I threw the grenades at them, sticking both in the chest. I jumped between the two Brutes and rolled, bringing my hands over my neck as the grenades exploded. The roared out, but did not collapse, instead whirling around to face me. This was Cynthia's chance to run up and stick the two Brutes with more grenades and jump back as they exploded. The two stunned Brutes stumbled around for a moment before both shaking their heads and raising their Gravity Hammers again.

"Humans? Here? The Sangheili have sunk so low in the war that they would accept the charity of heretics? This blasphemy offends all who walk the path to the Great Journey." One Chieftain coughed out, spitting a wad of blood on the ground. I smiled, even laughing slightly, just to keep their attention as Cynthia crept up behind them with her Energy Sword drawn. They stood dumbly as the lithe woman came up and raised her sword.

"Surprise." She muttered, before swinging her blade horizontally across the heads of the two Brutes. The two monstrous aliens fell to the ground simultaneously with a great thud. I stood up and gestured for Cynthia to come to me.

"We must go, before more Brutes come." I said. I took a moment to really see who Cynthia was - this was information I had failed to take in during the adrenalin-filled battles prior. She was about average height for a regular human, about five-ten, but was significantly shorter than me. Obviously, she was not a SPARTAN. She had bright green eyes and short-cropped white-blonde hair, and stood with a confident stance.

"If we're at a flat-out sprint, we can make it to the other end of the hangar bay in about ten minutes." Cynthia said, scratching the back of her head. I nodded and turned around again. I began to run, followed closely by Cynthia.

"When we get to the Banshee Launch, don't go to the Elite side. Get behind the Brutes - we have grenades, and lot's of them, so let's use them."I said, breaking into a sprint.

It was not long before we came up to the giant door to the Banshee Launch, and I quickly opened the door. As soon as the doors slid open, though, we were met with a fierce battle. Plasma bolts flew everywhere, and the yells of Elites rang through the open hallway. I pulled out my Needle Rifle and took aim at the Brutes charging on the Elites. I fired, the needles smashing through the resilient Brute armor like a knife through warm butter. The Brutes slowed their charge and looked around for the new attacker. I was a sharpshooter, and was trained to fire on fast-moving objects. With them stopping, this just made my job easier. I fired again and again, taking out countless Brutes as they poured weapons fire over the battered Elites trying to defend the lines of dormant starfighters behind them.

"Fieldmaster! Look!" An Elite Major called out to his commander, pointing to me and Cynthia. I ran up to the Elite Major.

"We're here under orders of Field Marshal Mizume 'Zehirae." I said.

"So I've heard, human." Another Elite said, walking up. He wore bright silver armor with glowing yellow highlights, and clutched a Plasma Repeater in one hand. "If you're going to help us, now's the time." He said, pointing to another pack of Brutes charging the Elites. I brought up my Needle Rifle again and let loose another volley of glowing needles onto the Brutes. The Fieldmaster leaned down, his mandibles drooped open in surprise.

"What?" I asked.

"You're a very good shot with a Needle Rifle, human, a trait not generally seen with your species."

"You're not the only ones with marksmen, Fieldmaster. I'm a sharpshooter. So, getting on with things, why is the Banshee Launch so important? You have the Ventral Hangar as well."

"If you don't already know - look behind you, human." The Fieldmaster said, pointing behind him. I looked behind me and saw a wall with a door at an angle to the floor. But it wasn't a wall.

"What is this?" I asked, looking up. This was an object resting against the wall, not the actual wall.

"The Sword Blockade Runner _Impending Truth._ Built by the Sangheili against the Prophet's orders as a… personal defense of Sanghelios." He explained, firing on a Brute Major storming through the wreckage of a collapsed Seraph.

"But why is it so important?" I asked, firing bursts of Needles at a group of Jackals scaling the wall.

"Because it has the same technology as a whole San'Shyuum Cruiser all packed into a Corvette. We can't lose it." The Fieldmaster said before putting all of his attention back to the battle. I nodded and kneeled behind cover, reloading my Needle Rifle.

"What's the status on our location?" I questioned, looking at the Brutes through the openings between the barriers. The Fieldmaster crouched next to me and peeked above the cover, surveying the battle before turning to me again.

"In the last hour, the Brutes have paid more attention to the south side, at the Seraph storage where you were. But, in the past few minutes, they've been sending larger packs of Brutes over here after realizing the importance of this position." The Field Master said, firing blindly over the barrier with his Plasma Repeater. I nodded and went into a prone position, creeping around the side of the barrier just enough so I could fire on the incoming Brutes.

"Field Master! The Majordomo needs to speak with you inside the corvette!" An Elite Major yelled from the door on the corvette. The Fieldmaster nodded and ran, still crouched, over to the door, constantly firing back at the packs of Jiralhanae that were now pouring through the doors on the left side of the room opposite the hangar shield. I let loose a barrage of Needle Rifle shots on the Brute Chieftains leading the charge on the corvette


	7. The UNSC Saint Peter Port

**Chapter Seven: The** _ **UNSC Saint Peter Port**_

 _Planet Vibrancy, UNSC Saint Peter Port, December 14th, 2552…_

"Captain Reynards, we're receiving a transmission from the Admiralty, sir. It's a notice from the Therisalli probes." The comms officer announced, swivelling her chair around to face the dark-haired man standing behind her. The captain leaned down and examined the screen. On it was a fuzzy hologram of a Covenant Cruiser.

"Alert the Admiralty that we're moving to engage. Helm, I want a slipspace solution immediately. Weapons, I want engines and guns prepped as soon as we exit slipspace." He ordered, walking quickly back to his seat, tapping something into the console on his seat's arm.

"Yes, sir. Priming all Archer-missile pods and all Helix AAA guns." The weapons officer announced.

"Shaw-Fujikawa Slipspace drive beginning activation." The helm said, typing into his bright computer screen. Captain Reynards nodded and stood up, turning to his bridge officers.

"When you have finished your work, my friends, join me and the rest of the crew in the cryo bay." Reynards said, walking from the bridge.

He trusted his soldiers more so than his own brother. He had fought side-by-side with these men and women for over twelve years. He had witnessed three worlds being glassed, and had suffered the same blows as his soldiers had. The only thing missing was his son, who had gone missing in action four years ago. His seat, next to the captain's chair, still remained empty.

He sighed as he stepped into the large, bustling room lined with cryotubes. He walked over to his, in the corner, and paused to look at the one next to his.

 _UNSCAv-098767_

 _Z. Reynards_

He opened his tube and stepped in, looking to the side through the glass of his tube to Zachary's empty one. He closed his eyes and allowed the frost to overtake his limbs, and he fell into a slumber.

 _December 15th, 2552…_

" _Captain! Captain, wake up!"_ Someone yelled, intruding on the captain's dream. He heard a deafening hiss, and his eyes shot open as cold air filled his lungs. He choked up the mineral solution onto the grated ground, and stood up, wiping his mouth on his frosty sleeve. His comms officer stood next to him, looking very tense and worried.

"What is it, Aihara?" Reynards asked, standing straight and looking her in the eye.

"We're spotting something off our port bow you really won't like."

"Again, what is it?" The Captain said, truly interested - and very worried. Aihara turned and walked to the elevator, holding it open for Reynards. She brought him to the bridge, and she pointed to the spotter at the end of the bridge, who was peering into the long scope and occasionally looking at the radar next to him.

"Vic, what's going on." The Captain queried, kneeling down next to the busy officer. He paused to look at Reynards.

"If I'm not mistaken, the planet Therisalli was noted as uninhabited by ONI, right?"

"Of course. Therisalli was supposedly a methane wasteland only good for refueling."

"If that was the case, sir, I wouldn't be seeing over a thousand Covenant ships orbiting the planet." He said, gesturing for Reynards to look into the scope. A cold, tingly feeling ran up Reynards's back, and he peered into the scope hesitantly. Unfortunately, the spotter was correct. Ten thousand miles off the port bow was a purple cloud of ships, with two large dots in the center - which were most likely the feared Supercarriers that had only been seen at Reach.

"Helm, get us to the planet's moon, quickly! We need cover so we can contact the Admiralty on our findings!" Reynards bellowed, standing up quickly and running to his chair. The helm officer turned around quickly.

"Sir! We have eighteen new readings just behind us! Should we engage evasive maneuvers?" The helm asked quickly, looking to Reynards worriedly.

"No. Boost our engines to full and get us to the moon!" He ordered, pointing to the small gray dot in the distance representing Therisalli's moon. The officer nodded and pressed down on a large button. The ship rumbled and shot forwards at mach twenty. But suddenly, the ship lurched to the side, and Reynards was thrown from his chair.

"Weapons! Report!" Reynards yelled, crouching on the floor.

"Hit! Starboard side! Two Corvettes moving to our starboard!"

"Comms! Send out a message!"

"What do you want me to say?"

"Anything!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Do it now, officer, we don't have much time!" The moon was coming up fast, the speck growing larger in the window. The shadow of a Covenant Corvette came over the bridge, but then it turned back and flew back to its fleet.

"This is the _UNSC Saint Peter Port_! Does anyone copy?! I repeat, this is the _UNSC Saint Peter Port_ to any ships! Does anyone copy?! We have wounded aboard!" The officer yelled, bracing himself for the coming impact. The _Port_ leaned slightly before smashing into the hard stone of Therisalli's moon. Reynards, not strapped down, was thrown from the bridge out the window. He, and the rest of the bridge crew - and all of the crew but one - died instantly.

* * *

 _Sword Assault Carrier Servant of Recompense, December 15th, 2552…_

"We need to cover the left flank! A Jiralhanae file is getting through!" An Elite Minor yelled, firing blindly at a group of Brutes coming through a door just to the right of the Corvette. I ducked below the barrier once more to reload my Needle Rifle. Cynthia ran over to me and slid over, bracing herself against the cover.

"What's the status here?"

"Same as it probably is on the rest of the ship." I said, tossing a grenade over the cover at an enraged pack of Brutes. Cynthia shook her head and handed me another satchel of pink needles and Plasma Grenades.

"Actually, after the initial assault, the rest of the ship is pretty calm. That's why you've been getting more reinforcements in the past few minutes." She stated over the sounds of the battle. I looked over to her in surprise.

"They've only landed here?"

"Yeah, it seems that all they want is that ship." She said, gesturing to the purplish red Corvette behind her. I threw another grenade blindly over the cover, still looking at her. She fired her Plasma Repeater at a Brute Major preparing to storm them. I finished it off with a needle to the skull. At the same time, the Fieldmaster ran up to me, crouching next to me, opposite of Cynthia.

"The Majordomo has spoken, and wants me to tell you that we're about to test out three new experimental weapons."

"Which are?"

"The Type Fifty-Eight Light Wraith, the Type Fifty-Three Plasma Bolt Launcher, and the Type Fifty-Four Heavy Banshee." He listed off, ignoring Cynthia's very happy face.

"We're going to test out experimental weapons on Brutes? Sounds fun." She said, smiling intently. The Fieldmaster looked at her, and a ghost of a smile flashed over his gray, scaly face. The Fieldmaster tossed a Spike Grenade over the cover and ran back to the Corvette's door, gesturing for Cynthia and I to follow. I ducked low and sprinted over to him. Cynthia paused before coming, throwing two more grenades at a pair of Chieftains holding Brute Shots. The Fieldmaster pulled me up into the door, because I was just a little too short to climb in myself. I reached down and helped Cynthia up, and the Fieldmaster closed the door. Two Elites ran up from behind us and stopped.

"Zealot Major, welcome back."

"Tsutar 'Te Misakan. It has been _quite some time_." I said, smiling. The Imperial Admiral looked away, rolling his large, olive eyes. The second Elite stepped forward and handed me and Cynthia each a bulbous, purple weapon.

"These are Type Fifty-Three Plasma Casters. They fire a super-charged plasma grenade at long ranges. They can be charged up even more to have a larger explosion." The red-clad Elite said, handing each of us a small clip. He pointed to an open socket on the bottom of the gun in front of the handle, and I put it in. The weapon turned on instantly, and I put it up to my face to test the sight. It lit up blue and glowed brightly in my face.

"This shoots grenades, you say?" I said, pushing open the Corvette's door, pointing it over the long barrier at a Brute Chieftain giving an Elite squad hell. I held down the trigger, and the weapons charged up, two prongs on the side extending, arcing with electricity. The charged ball of plasma shot from the gun and bounced once on the ground, coming to a fiery stop next to a Brute Stalker. The camouflaged Jiralhanae screamed out and tried to use its booster pack to fly away, but instead was quickly exterminated in a ball of blue smoke and flame.

"That will be all here, Major 'Duni. Bring the vehicles to the loading bay _behind_ the corvette and prime them for immediate activation." The Imperial Admiral said, grabbing a Plasma Caster for himself, slinging it over his back next to his Plasma Rifle and walking to the door next to me.

"Imperial Admiral, where is that special squad you wanted me to train?"

"They are behind the corvette suiting up for EVA battle. They're going off to defend the engine room, which has been depressurized because a Brute Cruiser fired on it."

"Shall I go with them?" I asked, flipping the EVA mask over my face. The Imperial Admiral looked from me to the battle just outside the door. He shrugged and pulled me back.

"Yes, I think they need you more than us. This battle is under as much control as we can get. Their battle, however, has no intel, and it is completely unknown how many Brutes may or may not be there." 'Te Misakan said. He reached down to his belt and took off one of his specialized Energy Swords, handing it to me.

"What?" I said in disbelief. From as much as I had seen Elites before, they treasured their blades as much as their own sons. The fact that the _Imperial Admiral_ of all people was giving me his family heirloom so I could protect his men was a sign of either great respect, or a sign that he was going to die soon and was passing them along. I was going to go along with the first one, because he kept his other sword. I looked up to the Imperial Admiral and nodded.

"This sword is a thousand years old, made by the great plasma forges of Sanghelios long before your time. I received it from the Kaidon who received it from the Kaidon before him. Take care, human, for this sword, if used correctly, has immense power." Tsutar stated, brushing his fingers over the sword in my open hand. "The engine room is down that hallway all the way - a giant door at the very end. Protect my men, Zealot Major, bring them back alive."

"I will go with him." Another Elite said, walking up. Mizume 'Zehirae stood in the doorway to the corvette, his armor blackened and worn. A half-charged Energy Sword was held at his side, flickering every few moments. In his other hand, he held a Brute Plasma Rifle, which was steaming slightly.

"Not in your current condition. Zealot Major, could you escort the Field Marshal to that armory you were at? We have captured that location, you should be okay." He paused and looked at us closely. "Hurry."

"Thank you, Imperial Admiral." 'Zehirae said, looking to me. "We must go, before the Brutes catch our scent."

"Right." We jumped out of the corvette and ran to the side of the battle, ducking behind the worn cover as plasma bolts and Fuel Rods flew over our heads. The Fieldmaster, who had gone back to the battle, looked at the two of us and bowed his head, his eyes trained on the Admiral's Energy Sword stuck to my belt. We ran into a doorway that led directly into the hallway Cynthia and I had been in. I pointed down the corridor at the same armory as before.

"Is that it, human?" Mizume said, looking in the direction of my pointed finger. I nodded and sprinted ahead, past the Elites walking down the hallway. Two looked over and roared.

"A human! What is it doing on this ship! Fire! These heretics shall not destroy our path!" The left one yelled, firing his Needle Rifle at me. I dodged past four of the needles, but the last one impacted my lower arm. I fell to the ground in a heap and looked up at the incoming hostile Elites… until one fell to the ground with a flickering Energy Sword through his abdomen. The other Elite was pushed against the wall by 'Zehirae, and he pulled out his Energy Dagger. Instead, I raised my own Needle Rifle, which had fallen from my back, and fired at the Elite. It died instantly, and slumped in Mizume's grasp. He looked over at me and dropped the Elite to the ground, walking over to me. I used my uninjured arm and quickly pulled the pink needle from my prosthetic arm.

"Good thing is, that needle went through the arm, in between the wires. You may not feel the prosthetic nerves anymore, but the actual system is okay." In the adrenaline-filled situations I had been in, I had completely forgotten that I had had a prosthetic arm when I had been taken from Indicative. I nodded at Mizume stood up, dropping the needle shards onto the ground.

"I should not have killed that man." I said, my voice wavering as I gazed upon the Elite I had killed. 'Zehirae huffed and helped me up.

"Well, to be fair, he did attack you first. And, if we had kept any more devout Covenant Sangheili aboard this ship, we could've had a mutiny on our hands."

"You speak of them as if they were the last Covenant-loyal Sangheili on this ship."

"As you may know, staying optimistic helps you stay _at ease_."

"Right, well, let's get you to the armory. We have to help defend the engine room at all costs."

"Unless you want the ship to go down."

"Not something I want while I'm still on it."

"But of course." Mizume walked next to me. I turned around, and we ran for the armory. We stormed inside and we quickly went to the racks of weapons and armor. I grabbed a few more packs of needles, and I hung up my Plasma Caster.

"You don't want it?" 'Zehirae asked, eyeing the weapon. I shook my head and handed it to him, his face turning to a thin smile.

"No, I'm more a rifle type." I said, holding up the Needle Rifle in my hand. I loaded a new clip of needles in and turned to him. He nodded and walked to the other side of the room, looking up at the large, black armor hanging there. He took down the helmet and put it on, reaching for the chest plate.

"This armor, I created it for times of great need." He said, activating a button on the side of his helmet. Lights lit up along the armor as he strapped into the legs.

"But why? In what way did you think you would need armor such as this? It doubles your size." I asked, genuinely curious as to why the Field Marshal had originally created the armor.

"For you. Demons - SPARTANs. I knew that someday, I would face a one of your kind. So, in secret, I created this armor, based off of the armor captured from your fallen warriors." Mizume said, saying the last part carefully, watching my movements. I nodded slowly and turned around, grabbing a few more plasma grenades from the rack.

"Then in a way, we now have two SPARTANs aboard this ship." I said, smiling. I tightened my chestplate and looked down at my exposed prosthetic, the armor and jumpsuit around the needle wound blown off when the needle exploded. The fiberglass plates moved in tandem as a steady stream of plasma pulsed through it from a small core near the stub of my arm. Wires that acted as muscles pulled and released as I moved my hand and fingers. If I wasn't looking, and I didn't already know that it was fake, and that it wasn't damaged, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between it and my original arm. I walked over to 'Zehirae and reached next to him, snatching a new forearm armor piece from the Elite Major armor set next to Mizume's. I strapped it on over the bare prosthetic and tightened it. It was much larger than the armor piece I had had before.

"I'm surprised that fits you, Zealot Major. That hasn't been scaled down for you."

"I guess you could call it an extra arm shield?" I said, holding up my arm. Indeed, although I had tightened the _straps_ around my arm, the _armor_ was still double the size of my forearm, and jutted out on both sides. If I raised it up, I could fashion it as a crude shield. Mizume flared his mandibles at me, and let out a breathy laugh.

"Plain armor doesn't fare well against plasma. That 'shield' of yours won't do much unless it's a physical blow." 'Zehirae commented, strapping the last piece of plating onto him, activating the plasma core on the back of his armor. His armor, not just the chestplate and helmet, lit up with dark red lights, accenting nicely against the jet black armor pieces. He walked over and picked up a familiar-looking Carbine.

"That was mine." I said, pointing to it with a smile. He looked from me to it and laughed, sticking it to his back.

"Then I guess it will go to use a second time." Mizume said, walking to the door of the room. I walked over and stood next to him.

"The end of the hallway is right there. I'm guessing the corridor the Imperial Admiral was talking about is through that door there." I stated, pointing to a door at the far end of the hall across from the door to the hangar.

"Most likely. I've only been on this ship a month. I know the layout just as much as you do." Mizume said, walking to the door. He typed something into the console next to the door, and it slid open, the lock flashing green. The door to the hangar was closed - thank God - because the corridor to the engine room was completely depressurized. The air in the hall 'Zehirae and I were standing in was sucked into the next one, along with us. I careened down the hall towards the door to the engine room, flipping uncontrollably into the walls. I used the small boosters on my armor to right myself just as I smashed into the engine room door. The door to the plasma cores had a large, gaping hole in in, and blackened pieces of metal glided about. The body of an Elite Honor Guard floated next to the door, his Energy Stave deactivated. I heard talking inside the door, and I pulled myself to the hole. An Elite dressed in all black pointed an Energy Repeater as I poked my head in. I raised my arms.

"Friendlies, coming in. We're Swords of Sanghelios, stand down." I said, pushing myself through the opening. The Elite lowered his weapon and helped me and Mizume through the blackened door. The plasma cores that powered the ship were exposed, because a whole wall was gone, revealing space. The open wall was facing the battered Brute Fleet, who were continuously firing on the area near the engine room.

"They've been trying to knock out the power for a good hour now. We only just got here to destroy a small Brute pack that had come in here to manually knock out the cores." The Elite said, looking at me.

"Human." Another Elite said, floating over while clutching a Plasma Rifle. From his voice, it was the same Elite I had duelled earlier when we had first come to fetch the special troops.

"Sangheili." I said back, staring the man down. The Elite grabbed onto a handhold next to me and looked at me, his eyes flicking across me through his blue-tinted visor. I looked up at him with a cold stare. My hand, although not resting on it, was prepared to grab the Imperial Admiral's Energy Sword. He looked down at my hand and his eyes widened.

"Why do you possess the Vorpal Talon! That is one of the sister-swords of Tsutar 'Te Misakan!" He exclaimed, jumping back. I sighed and turned to Mizume, boosting myself off of the wall towards him, drifting past him and grabbing hold of a bent piece of the wall to steady myself.

"He gave it to me. I am to lead you in the defense of the energy cores. Gather the others so we can make a plan." I ordered, gazing outside at the Brute fleet. The Elite scoffed and drifted outside of the wall, calling 'up' at two Elites scaling the underside of the ship. They pushed themselves back into the engine room and magnetized to the floor, walking over to us. I floated about two feet off of what the ground should be, and looked at the Elites at eye level as they walked up.

"What is your plan, Zealot Major?" The Elites said, kneeling before me. I looked nervously to Mizume at the gesture. He shrugged and gestured for me to talk to them.

"You two will hide behind the forwardmost reactors with your weapons primed. The Field Marshal and I will distract the Brutes and make them come in. You," I looked at the Elite next to me, "will be in the rafters with your Plasma Repeater."

"And what does this do?"

"The Brutes will come in after us, and will only be searching for us. You will have flanked them without even trying. You will attack them from behind when all of them are in front of you. They will be enraged. He will dive from the ceiling with plasma grenades and rain fire over them. We'll knock out all the Brutes that come in with surgical precision." I stated, looking at a Brute Corvette that was turning about to face the engine room. I turned to 'Zehirae frantically to tell him.

"That is a good plan. All we need to know is when the Brutes will-" Mizume was cut off as the Corvette landed a direct hit on the engine room, the plasma shot hitting the ceiling of the room with a bright flash. Superheated plasma splashed into the room, and I was blown back into the hallway, along with the rest of the door, and the others in the room. With the hit, one of the reactors failed, and one of the three main engines on _The Servant of Recompense_ blew out, lurching the supercarrier to its starboard side. I was jostled around the hallway violently, and my shields flickered at seventeen percent. But just as suddenly as the explosion rocked the ship, it stopped. I righted myself with my half-working boosters and floated half-conscious in the corridor.


	8. Covenant Fieldmaster Aor 'Tarqi

**Chapter Eight: Covenant Fieldmaster Aor 'Tarqi**

 _Planet Therisalli, Sword Assault Carrier The Servant of Recompense, December 16th, 2552…_

By the UNSC meantime, with how long I had been drifting in the hallway, it had already passed into the next day. I awoke with the ship shuddering to the blast of a plasma torpedo as it impacted the outer shields. After finding out it was all depressurized, no other Elite had dared go into the corridor. I righted myself with my boosters and looked around for everyone else. I heard gunfire from down the hall, and I looked over to see Mizume and one other Elite fending off three Brutes. I grabbed the Needle Rifle from my back and fired, impacting one of the Brutes in the forehead. Mizume, not knowing I was awake, looked back in surprise as the Brute drifted out of the engine room, propelled by the same small explosion that killed it.

"Zealot Major! We could use some help. Brutes from a disabled cruiser are boosting themselves up here. We need your assistance." 'Zehirae called, turning back in time to dodge a Gravity Hammer blow which careened into the wall. He flew into the door and stabbed the Brute with his superheated blade, the gravitational shockwaves not affecting his attack in his advanced armor. I jumped forward and spun myself around, kicking the Brute in the face. The stunned beast drifted back, his Gravity Hammer lowered. I took this chance to fire three needles into torso from my rifle. I switched out my Needle Rifle with my Plasma Rifle and aimed at his face, letting loose a torrent of plasma fire.

"That's the last ones from the cruiser." Said the other Elite, who was breathing heavily against the wall.

"If he comes through the hangar and around the underside, we could get a team in here with a portable shield, so we can repressurize and regravitize this corridor." Mizume stated, floating upside down above me. I nodded and looked to the other Elite.

"Are the others okay?"

"'Korin is in a coma, 'Arkelai is unconscious, and 'Ersai…" The Elite paused.

"He's what?

"Dead. I lost his pulse a few seconds ago." The Stealth Elite explained, looking to one of the three floating bodies. I noticed that on one of them, his suit was ripped across his midsection.

"'Ersai is dead?" Mizume confirmed. The Elite nodded, and Mizume bowed his head for a moment, examining the other Elites.

"His suit is breached!" I exclaimed, floating over to one of the unconscious Elites. Mizume nodded.

"Sangheili can survive longer in space than humans can, Zealot Major. We can survive for an hour or so without a mask on, while you could last thirty seconds." 'Zehirae said, removing his EVA mask and flaring his mandibles. The small amount of air trickling from Mizume's mouth created a small plume of steam that instantly froze and dissipated.

"Interesting. Could you call that team you were speaking about?" I asked, looking over the three Elites who were not moving.

"Yes. They will be here within the next ten minutes." He said, pressing a button on his helmet. I nodded and floated to the ceiling, sitting down on it. I looked 'up' at the floor to the other Elite, who began to follow. Suddenly, he spun on his horizontal axis and splattered purple blood everywhere. Mizume cried out and looked out of the engine room. Three Jackals floated in the remnants of the wall, one holding a steaming Beam Rifle. Because I was behind a piece of the door, they didn't see me immediately. And, the Jackals had another disadvantage - they couldn't smell anything in space with their helmets on. I peeked around the piece of bent purple metal and aimed my Needle Rifle. I fired twice, killing one of them and missing another. The other two barked to each other and boosted to either side of the destroyed wall, covering their heads with their Skirmisher arm shields. I threw a grenade at the left side, diving behind the cover again. It exploded, but caused no damage to the Jackal, who was well covered outside of the room, holding onto the hull outside the ship.

"Switching right." Mizume said, jumping to my position, I nodded and pushed off of the wall, rolling in midair to land gently on the opposite wall. I dove to the grated floor and went into a prone position, one hand clutching the grate and the other holding the rifle. The Jackals boosted themselves in and hid behind the plasma cores, loading their Carbines. I fired on one's exposed hand, knocking its weapon out of its hand and out into space. It reached frantically for it, but stopped as the other Jackal passed it a Plasma Repeater. I sighed and threw another grenade, making them move away from each other as the grenade passed between them. As they drifted from behind the core, I fired, killing one of them. The only one left was the one with the Beam Rifle, who fired randomly at a wall, letting the plasma bolt bounce around the room. I had no cover as the bolt smashed into the grate my hand was one, forcing me off of the ground. I floated freely with no cover and no handholds in the middle of the hallway as the Jackal took aim. I closed my eyes and prepared for the worst, but heard the report of a Carbine and the wet cry of the Jackal as it choked on its own blood. A very different, heavily armored Banshee glided down, with two Elites hanging onto the wings.

"Field Marshal! Zealot Major! We've come to set up the shielding." The Elite on the right wing yelled, reloading his Carbine as he pushed off of the Banshee. He drifted in with a device slung over his back. He hit the ground and magnetized his hooves to the grates, walking over to me. He helped me 'upright' and handed me the device.

"What's this?" I asked, examining the elongated machine in my hand. The Elite ripped open a plastic pack with his teeth and grabbed the device back.

"The shield generator. You stick it down wherever you want it and turn it on, and it fills in the space with a flat shield in the direction the emitter is facing." He said, putting it on the bent metal just inside the destroyed wall. He stuck his finger into the plastic bag and came out with his fingers coated in a gray substance. He rubbed the liquid onto the underside of the machine and put it down, keeping his hand on it until is solidified. He came inside the wall and tapped a button on it, stepping back. The machine came to life and flashed, emitting a bright purple shield. From my semi-standing position in midair, I fell to my knees as the fabricated gravity in the hallway came back online. Mizume fell on his side from his prone position on the ceiling. I stood up and grabbed my weapon from the ground.

"Is there atmosphere?" I queried, putting my hand over my EVA mask. The Elite shrugged.

"There's enough that you can breathe, but it's very thin right now. It's also freezing cold." He said, taking off his EVA mask. The Banshee and the other Elite hovered outside, watching the battle.

"So, what now?" I said to no one in particular, rubbing a smudge off of my Needle Rifle.

"We should get out of here before we're attacked again. I'll call in a squad to secure this position." The Elite said, pointing to the door. I nodded and walked over to it. The sounds of battle behind the door had ceased, and the confused talking of Elites filled the room as I opened the door to the hangar. The Phantoms and Spirits that had dropped off the Brutes were suddenly taking off, leaving the remaining Brutes to be eliminated. The battle was over. I turned back to the destroyed wall and watched as the dozens of dropships went back to their respective ships. Mizume came up next to me, scratching his lower left mandible with a confused look on his gray face.

"Did they just… leave?" An Elite nearby muttered, his weapons lowered to his sides. Suddenly an explosion rang out in the pseudo-silence that had engulfed the room. There were cries of alarm from the other side of the hangar, and the ship-wide alarms began to blare.

"What just happened?!" 'Zehirae yelled, standing up straight to look around. A Grunt technician waddled up, holding a tablet and Plasma Pistol. Mizume looked down at it and raised an eyebrow.

"The Brute ships are firing on us, and are abandoning one of their Cruisers. It's begun a crash course with us, your Lordship." The Grunt said, not once making eye-contact with Mizume.

"I understand. Get me to the bridge. Being the highest ranking officer assigned to this ship, I must take command." 'Zehirae ordered. The Grunt nodded vigorously and turned on its heel, walking towards another door.

 _The Servant of Recompense_ shook once again as another plasma torpedo slammed into the outer shields, jostling the many Elites in the hangar. The Brute Cruiser, being pelted with plasma fire from the rest of the Sword Fleet, stopped suddenly and turned off its shields, the blue glow whenever a plasma bolt hit it diminishing, the plasma passing through to smash into the hull. From the loudspeaker around the ship, a long static sound emitted before a voice started coming through.

" _This is the Fleetmaster to anyone aboard_ The Servant of Recompense _. I live. I am commandeering this cruiser you see outside of the ship, and would like for someone to pick me up."_ The Fleetmaster said over the comm. 'Te Misakan, who was walking over to Mizume and I, let out a cheer, raising a fist to the air. But the comm continued, " _But, my friends, the Brutes will persist. I heard from one of their leaders that they are calling in reinforcements. I would advise relocating the fleet to another world quickly._ "

"A good plan." I heard Mizume mutter, walking to the Imperial Admiral.

"I will take his word. It seems you don't need to rise to command, Field Marshal." Tsutar jested, elbowing Mizume with a thin smile. 'Zehirae fumed, but then went back to his original state as he remembered something.

"Imperial Admiral, sir, we lost one of your men during the defense of the engine room." Mizume reported quickly, shooting a glance to me. The Imperial Admiral looked from Mizume to me and sighed. I grabbed his sword, Vorpal Talon, from my belt and tried to hand it to him.

"Imperial Admiral, I faile-"

"Keep it, I gave it to you for more reason than to protect my men. It should be a great thing that one of them fell while fighting with you specifically, Zealot Major, for you are a great warrior who led them, no matter how short, with great ability. Their honor has been left untarnished." The Imperial Admiral stated, pushing my outstretched hand back, enclosing my fist around the sword's hilt.

"I thank you for the compliment." I said back. The Imperial Admiral had a very strong air about him right now, and I had to reason not to act my best in front of him at this moment. In this instance, he really did feel like my superior.

"It should not be seen as an act to give thanks to, but as an act to honor, warrior." The Imperial Admiral replied, stepping up onto a crate.

"What's he doing?" Mizume whispered to me, looking up at Tsutar as he raised his activated Vorpal Talon to the air.

"Today, my brothers, we leave Therisalli and these Brute beasts with our Fleetmaster still living! We have fought for and defended this ship with great skill and honor! You should congratulate yourselves. But, around the next corner could be danger. Do not lower your guard or stand by, for we are not relaxing just yet. After we relocate our fleet, we will attempt to make contact with Sanghelios, and the rest of our brothers! We shall have our eventual vengeance on the false prophets! Stay true, my brothers! Remember who and what we fight for!" The Imperial Admiral yelled across the hangar, loud enough that my helmet was vibrating ever so slightly. 'Zehirae leaned over.

"This is why _he's_ a better announcer than I am." He remarked, a glint of competitiveness in his eyes. I nodded slowly and watched as the rest of the Elites who had gathered around or were listening let out a deafening cheer, pumping their arms into the air with Energy Swords drawn. 'Te Misakan smiled and jumped down, walking to me.

"And this, my friend, is when you know your brothers are loyal." He said, putting a hand on my shoulder before walking past me. ' _My Friend?'_

 _Planet Mendirae, Sword Assault Carrier The Servant of Recompense, December 17th, 2552…_

Calling _The Servant of Recompense_ an Assault Carrier was a misnomer, but the nickname for the Supercarrier had stuck for many years, apparently. It was first coined by Shipmaster Kitrata 'Ekora when from far away he had said the Supercarrier was of the same size as an Assault Carrier - which he was truly wrong in saying. Technically, misnaming the class or name of the ship was a direct insult to the Shipmaster and his crew, but of course, the Fleetmaster didn't much care for tradition, and took the nickname with a laugh. And so, _The Servant of Recompense_ is known as an Assault Carrier.

I learned this as I looked through a small computer the Imperial Admiral had provided for me, which was full of information about the Swords of Sanghelios and Covenant technology and customs. It was actually quite and interesting read, for I had little knowledge on the inner workings of the Covenant hierarchy except for who was able to kill what. Then again, it might've been more interesting to me because I was half asleep and to be honest, quite bored. After the battle yesterday with the Brutes, and after _The Servant of Recompense_ was fully repaired by the Huragok, there was no action whatsoever. So, instead of lounging around on my bunk reading military journals, I sat up and jumped from the purple bunk, landing on the ground with a light thud. I walked to the door and opened it, looking into the hallway. No one was there, but I heard loud talking from down the hallway - the mess hall, if I wasn't mistaken. I grabbed my Plasma Rifle from the small compartment next to my bed that held my weapons, and stuck it to the back of my belt. I walked down the hall towards the large door and listened. Yep, definitely the mess hall. I stepped in front of the door and walked in as it automatically opened. It was the first time I had seen the mess hall not being a defense front. It was bustling with Elites, and a few Skirmishers, and it was very loud in the room. It seemed that it was a celebratory feast of some sort. The Field Marshal, who noticed me, jogged over.

"Zealot Major! Welcome. I had forgotten to speak of this to you. This is a custom after winning a major ship battle. Come, you must be famished after all of the battles you've been through in the last forty-eight hours." 'Zehirae said, gesturing for me to follow him. I nodded and walked closely behind him, watching the hundreds of Elites around me.

"Just a wonder, um, am I able to eat any of your species' food?" I asked, curious as to what my stomach could handle.

"Our meals, after some studying, should be edible by your standards. It is made up of meat and alcohol, mostly." He explained, walking me over to one of the long tables filled with food. He handed me a flat board and gestured to the food.

"Just… grab some?" I asked, my hand hovering over the meat after looking around for a utensil to serve with. It was so foreign to me.

"Mm, Sangheili are much more bacterial-resistant compared to humans. We had never needed a serving utensil as you do." He said, wiping off his arm of a smudge.

"Okay." I said, chancing sickness. I reached down and ripped off a piece of the large animal. I put it on my plate and followed 'Zehirae to an empty table. We sat down and ate our meal in silence.

"It's been two days since I got you away from Indicative." He muttered, not looking at me. I sighed and nodded. It was interesting how in only two days, I had grown to trust these aliens with my life. I don't know how or why I was doing it. But yet, it didn't feel _wrong_. I was only helping, right? But there was so much I had to still find out.

"I need to head back to the frigate crashed on Ceresa." I said, setting down my food. Mizume looked at me oddly.

"You can't possibly be serious. That area is Jiralhanae-controlled now! Any attempt to enter the system would be a death sentence." 'Zehirae said, looking at me with a frown. I looked down at my plate and sighed.

"I need to find out why a UNSC ship would be at Therisalli. From what I know, the nearest outpost or refueling station is at Vodeea Kallstei. No one would be out here with the right mind."

"Unless they saw our fleet." He paused. "I know humans have enough advancement to be able to have long range scanners."

"True. But, they would've called in for a battlegroup escort."

"Then there was a problem?"

"Unlikely. If they were at a station already, they would've gotten it fixed."

"Or their comm signal never went through."

"May I go to Ceresa with a small team?" I asked, putting a piece of meat into my mouth. Mizume sighed.

"Better yet, I'll send you in a corvette- no, a strike group. You will have four cruisers and an Assault Carrier at your disposal." 'Zehirae said finally, looking at me. I nodded with a weak smile.

"When do I leave."

"Now. I will notify them. Get to the hangar."

"Yes." I said, finishing my meal before standing up and walking to the door.

I had been waiting for an hour now, sitting on a purple crate of ammunition while fiddling with the needles on the topside of my rifle. A Lich dropship touched down on next to me, and two Elites floated down from the ventral grav lift. They looked around, spotted me, and walked over. I looked up at them with a smile, and they looked down at me with contempt.

"Zealot Major Reynards?" The lead one asked, a short red cloak going down half his back. I nodded. "I'm Fieldmaster Aor 'Tarqi. D'Suvai and I will be your escorts to Ceresa."

"Good. Shall we get going, then?" I asked politely, standing up and putting the Needle Rifle over my back. 'Tarqi huffed and stared me down, seething silently. I didn't say anything, but I kept my hand hovered over the Imperial Admiral's Vorpal Talon. D'Suvai looked from me to Aor carefully. I trusted D'Suvai enough not to kill me - he had been on the first excursion to Ceresa - but 'Tarqi? No, I didn't trust him for a second. He had a rebellious air around him, and he held his nose high, as if he was above all. He had two Energy Swords and a Plasma Repeater arranged on his back, and four grenades attached to his harness' belt.

"The battlegroup leaves as soon as we arrive. We mustn't keep them waiting." D'Suvai said quickly, sensing the rising tension. I suspected 'Tarqi was still mildly attached to the Covenant, like many Elites still were. I followed D'Suvai and 'Tarqi to the grav lift and floated up into the Lich, my hand never leaving the Vorpal Talon. It lifted off, and we flew from the hangar towards an Assault Carrier next to _The Servant of Recompense._ We flew to beneath the Carrier, under the bulbous nose of it, and docked with a small hangar made for Seraphs. A door opened to the side, and we were quickly rushed out by two Honor Guards. We were taken down the hall to the main hangar of the Assault Carrier, off to the side, down another hallway, and to a row of dozens of orbital insertion pods.

"We're being dropped in?" I asked as one of the Honor Guards opened the doors to three of the pods. He nodded and gestured for us to step in. I walked into the first one and sat down on the chair, holding still as the system lowered a harness over me. Two screens popped up to the left and right of me, face cameras of D'Suvai and 'Tarqi.

" _This is Atlas of Unity command to drop pods seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen. Are you prepared for slipspace jump and immediate insertion to Ceresa?_ " A gruff Elite voice said over the comm. I looked at the picture of D'Suvai, who nodded at me. I opened a return comm to acknowledge.

"Copy that. We're ready for slipspace jump." I replied, my hands clamping tightly on the harness. The Carrier rumbled, and then shook violently as it entered sudden slipspace. Being inside of a rocky pod was not helping, as the clamps holding the pods in place shook back and forth, and we were jostled around inside. I looked down at my feet, at a floor screen of the underside of the pod. Outside the small shield barring the inside of the pod corridor to the outside of the ship, the clouds of slipspace flowed around the Carrier and its Cruiser escorts.

" _This turbulence is going to force us out of slipspace if this keeps up!"_ The command officer said into the comm, his voice sounding very strained. It was really starting to get bad outside. The energy shields flickered constantly, and the roar of slipspace grew louder in the pod. I held on tight, but was forced forwards as the Assault Carrier lurched sideways and performed an emergency transfer from slipspace. The Carrier flew end over end towards Therisalli, looming in the distance.

"We can't launch pods in these conditions!" D'Suvai yelled next to me, his pod's door still open. His door, without the command officer saying anything, closed, and lights flickered on inside of the pods, signalling that they were fully primed for launch.

"What th- you surely can't be serio-!" I was cut off as the shields deactivated under the pod, and our three capsules were sucked into space. I yelled out as my pod spun uncontrollably, flinging me around in my harness. The internal gyroscope gave out, and I began to float. I grabbed hold of the control sticks on either side of me, and tried my best to level myself out. Pulling the two triggers on the sticks, I activated the secondary stabilizers on the pod, spinning it so that my feet - and the camera - were facing towards Therisalli. But what I saw was not the ever so peaceful planet we had left behind. It had become a battlefield.

But what was most alarming about the battle our pods were flying into was that there were no Swords of Sanghelios ships - nothing was crimson red - only Brute ships and… and… humans. I angled left and activated the burn, flinging myself at speeds close to mach seven at the nearest Brute ship. But a shot from a twenty-millimeter cannon on one of the UNSC Cruisers sent me flying at one of the frigates diagonal from me.

" _Zealot Major! What are you doing! You're way off course! Boost starboard forty degrees and angle towards the Brute Carrier above you!"_ 'Tarqi ordered into the comms. But it was too late to do that. My burners were offline, and my stabilizers were used up. So instead, I lowered the EVA mask over my face and quickly grabbed my Needle Rifle, which I had placed in the side compartment next to the seat. I unstrapped the harness and looked at the outside camera, waiting for the best moment to burst out.

 _Perfect._

I kicked open the pod's door and pushed myself out with my other leg. I let the escaping air boost me forwards before I activated the jets on my armor, and went into an aerodynamic position with my head facing 'forwards', even though aerodynamics didn't apply in space. I was heading straight for the UNSC Frigate two kilometers in front of me. I looked behind me to see if D'Suvai and 'Tarqi's pods were behind me, but I could not see them through the ash and debris of the space battle. I activated my comms to see if I could contact them. Instead, I accidentally tapped into the UNSC communications frequency.

" _UNSC Hammer of Dawn, angle on heading forty seven dash nine dash seventy-one point two!"_ A voice yelled through the comms.

" _Aye sir, angling the Hammer on heading forty seven dash nine dash seventy-one point two!_ " Another voice replied. I chanced saying something.

"This is SPARTAN One-Five-Eight to UNSC command ship, requesting permission to come aboard." I asked, finally activating my jets. Static rang out in the comms, followed by a chorus of confused voices.

" _What's a SPARTAN doing out here! Yes, come aboard the Yucatan! Coordinates seven, seven, four, th-"_

"I see you." I did, really. Above the frigate in front of me was a UNSC _Valiant_ -class Super-Heavy Cruiser with large, white letters spelling _YUCATAN_ emblazoned on its nose. I angled myself up and went to maximum power on my jets, speeding towards the large hangar on the back-left of the cruiser. I spun myself around - my legs facing forwards - and crossed my arms around my stomach as I flew through the hangar shields. The sudden force of artificial gravity hit me, and I fell to the floor with a thud. I slid along the titanium floor and smashed into a yellow marker pole. With a groan, I sat up and rubbed my forehead, switching my comms quickly to D'Suvai and 'Tarqi's frequencies.

" _Major! You're on a human ship?! That could mean your death if they find out you allied with us! You're still wearing our armor!"_ D'Suvai exclaimed, his face flickering onto my HUD. I stood up to be met with two UNSC Marines holding Assault Rifles pointed at me.

"Hold it right there, you Covie bast… wait… what?" The Marine trailed off as I turned to face him, and he saw I was a human. I grabbed the rifle from his hands and held it in front of me as the second Marine fired, blocking the rounds with the resilient weapon. I used the butt of the MA37 to hit the other Marine's weapons out of reach before flinging the MA37 I was holding across the hangar.

"Marines! Stand down! This is the SPARTAN that just…" A man in a captain's uniform walked up, but stopped as he noticed my clothing.

"Captain." I said plainly, prepared to duck to cover if he pulled out his handgun. Luckily, though, I had energy shields on my armor, so I had a few seconds if it came down to that.

"You wear the armor of a Sangheili?" The captain said, his hand hovering over his gun. "We may be at a truce, but I didn't know that ONI would do something like this." I raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean, _truce_?"

"You don't know about it? Ah, well, Indicative is pretty far out of the way. Yeah, the UNSC and the Swords of Sanghelios made a truce last month. We're just here to get back the _Saint Peter Port_ and mop up these Brutes."

 _There it was again… the Saint Peter Port. What is it?_ I ignored the fact that we were speaking about a truce between two species, I questioned the captain.

"The _Saint Peter Port_ , can you tell me more about it?" I asked, steadying myself as the ship shook.

"Frigate class, served since 2541. Commanded by Captain Thorn Reynards." The captain said, putting a hand on his hip. It took me a moment to let the information sink in.

"Thorn Reynards?"

"Yeah."

"Did he have a son?" I asked, hopeful.

"Mm, if I remember correctly, his son went missing during a recon mission near Epsilon Eridani a few years back. I think his name was… Zach?"He replied, putting a hand to his chin. "I knew Reynards like a brother."

"Thank you." I said before turning around. He put a hand to my shoulder and shifted me around, pointing at the hangar bay's shield. Outside, two Elites boosted their way into the ship, D'Suvai and 'Tarqi.

"Friends or foes?" The captain asked quickly as the two Elites advanced towards me, ignoring the scared glances of the Marines and flight crew around them.

"Friends." I replied, walking up to them. 'Tarqi brushed past me and reached for his Energy Sword quickly. I dashed forwards and grabbed the sword off of his belt. He glared at me and flared his mandibles. I shook my head slowly and kept eye-contact with him.

"Why do you keep me from fighting them? You may be an asset, SPARTAN, but the humans are still our enemy." 'Tarqi exclaimed, clenching his gloves fists. D'Suvai was hesitant at drawing his sword, his hand covering the hilt but not holding it as he looked from me to the captain, noticing that we were talking on a friendly note. He dropped his hand and looked at 'Tarqi, who stared him down.

"Because, brother, you attack the _Zealot Major_ 's allies. They may not be our allies, but we must trust the judgement of our superior."

"Superior? I will not be tricked by a faux rank. He was plucked from a doomed human world and put in the armor of our brothers, an action which I believe will come back to destroy the Fleetmaster and his group of 'advisors.'" 'Tarqi said, looking down at his sword in my hand. D'Suvai scoffed, and sent 'Tarqi over the point of no return. In his rage, he lunged forth and knocked me to the ground, grabbing his sword from the ground. The Marines that were behind the captain ran to surround him. Aor grabbed me by the neck and activated his sword.

"'Tarqi! Cease hostilities!" D'Suvai yelled, drawing his blade to meet 'Tarqi. With a powerful kick, Aor kicked D'Suvai to the ground, snapping the latter's arm with his hooved, grooved boot. D'Suvai lay on the ground in a heap with blood leaking from where his bone punctured his skin.

"Weak. Do you, Hakiera D'Suvai, trust this human to make all of the decision you want? Do you trust this… human to lead you into battle?!" 'Tarqi shouted, tightening his hold around my neck. I coughed and sputtered and tried to breathe, but he held so tightly I couldn't get any air through. But, in a sudden burst of strength, I reached down and grabbed the Vorpal Talon from my belt, activating the greenish, iridescent blade. I swung upwards, breaking through the armor - not skin - of the arm that was holding me up. 'Tarqi, feeling the immense heat against his arm, cried out and dropped me, swinging his other arm, which held his sword, at me. I fell to the ground and rolled as his sword plunged into the ground next to me.

"By the treaty, I cannot interfere with this matter. I will barricade this area and leave you to your own devices, SPARTAN." The captain said, walking backwards away from the battle, followed by his Marines. I coughed and stood up, rubbing my throat with my free hand. My other hand clutched Vorpal Talon, which glowed bright against the gray, metal ground.

"You have betrayed your whole species, human! You disgrace your family line, your descendants, and your leaders! And you, D'Suvai, and the rest of the Swords of Sanghelios, have betrayed the Covenant! We were at the peak of our power, only seconds away from the Great Journey, and the _oh-so-great_ Thel 'Vadam _ee_ decided to kill the grand Prophet of Truth and stop our brothers from receiving divine status!"

"We stopped our false prophets from committing mass xenocide!" D'Suvai exclaimed from the ground, his hand reaching slowly for his Plasma Rifle.

"And my species, Fieldmaster, is at a truce with yours. Technically speaking, you're breaking a _galactic_ scale treaty." I mentioned. Complete and utter rage engulfed Aor, and he roared out and pumped his Energy Sword into the air.

"The kaidon's of Sanghelios are fools! Fools, I say!" 'Tarqi exclaimed, charging towards me. I raised Vorpal Talon and parried his first attack, dodging to the side to swipe at his back. He jumped forwards and whirled around, thrusting his sword at me. I ducked and swung at his legs, rolling on the ground to D'Suvai's side, helping him up. I raised Vorpal Talon and advanced on 'Tarqi, who put his sword in front of his face, with the the blades covering part of his face. He dashed forwards with the sword at his side, swinging it with a great battle cry. I struggled to hold off the attack, as it pressed into Vorpal Talon which was crossed across my chest. I pushed back and kicked, knocking him away from me long enough for me to make an attack. At the same time, he jumped forwards and swung erratically, his rage blinding his judgement - but he landed a hit. His sword cut through my prosthetic arm completely, cutting my forearm clean off, sending Vorpal Talon and the rest of my arm clattering to the ground. 'Tarqi stood in front of me, staring me down triumphantly. What he failed to notice is how he cut my arm off.

My arm was severed at a sharp angle, exposing the innards of the system. I raised the stump of my arm and charged forth, plunging it into 'Tarqi's unguarded chest. The electricity from the live wires knocked out his shields, the plasma from the power core melted through the armor, and the metal prongs of the skeleton ripped through his skin. I pushed forwards and ran my arm through Aor, the tips of the metal coming out of his back. I coughed again and collapsed, my lungs hoping for air from my bloated throat. 'Tarqi, who's already dead eyes stared forward at me, slid off of my arm and fell to the ground with a wet thump, a pool of purple blood collecting around his chest. I rolled onto my back and continued trying to breathe. My hands pried at my throat trying in vain to get oxygen down my windpipe, but to no avail. Darkness tugged at the sides of my vision, and I fell into unconsciousness for the second time in the past week.


	9. The Pride of Xerxi

**Chapter Nine: The Pride of Xerxi**

 _Planet Therisalli, UNSC Heavy Cruiser Yucatan, December 16th, 2552…_

I awoke to the blaring of a UNSC klaxon and the rumble of an explosion. My throat burned, and my right arm, my prosthetic, was completely out of power. I sat up and looked around - but I wasn't sitting up, I was already in the air? The _Yucatan_ was dead in space, and debris filled the hangar of the ship. I looked around frantically for D'Suvai. He was next to me trying to pry his leg out of the air brake of a half-destroyed Longsword Interceptor. I called out to him, and he looked up.

"Zealot Major! I thought you were dead! You were hit full on with a tank!" D'Suvai exclaimed, finally freeing leg from the fighter. He kicked off it and glided over to me, stopping in front of me with his jets.

"What happened?" I asked, looking around the destroyed hangar. The only light in the room was the bright illumination from Therisalli itself.

"A Brute _Reverence_ -class Cruiser rammed this ship, killing most of the crew and knocking out the artificial gravity. You've been here for two hours, I think." D'Suvai reported. "I haven't seen any other humans in that time. I think that we are some of the only people left on the ship."

"Indeed." I looked outside to see the worn and blackened nanolaminate hull of a Covenant ORS Heavy Cruiser lodged in the _Yucatan_ a tad forward of the hangar.

"The only reason we're breathing right now is because of that loose airlock. I would advise you to put on your EVA mask." I nodded and slid the membrane over my face, breathing in the mildly stale oxygen. And, as if on cue, the airlock door burst, and all of a sudden, the floating fighters, boxes, other equipment and dead personnel flew rapidly to the door. I careened towards it quickly, smashing through a Broadsword Strike Fighter in the process. D'Suvai hung onto the back of my armor, firing his Plasma Rifle at pieces of debris in front of us. We flew into the hallway, which was ripped open on the outside to reveal space. I yelled out as we hit a box and went spinning out of the hallway into open space.

"D'Suvai! Your boosters!" I yelled as we flew farther and farther away from the _Yucatan_ and away from the battle, moving towards Therisalli in the distance. D'Suvai scramble to activate his jets, and in the process let go of me. He flew aimlessly away from me, his arms and legs flailing as he tried to get back to me. I tried to stay as calm as I could as we grew farther apart. I flipped myself over and kicked off of a piece of a wing, flying towards a Brute Frigate few kilometers ahead of me. I got out my Energy Dagger and the extension cord, attaching one to the other. I threw the cord with the dagger on the end, the dagger melting into D'Suvai's back armor. I pulled, hard, and soon had him careening towards me. I activated my boosters one last time and went to full power, using up the last of the fuel in them to go towards the Frigate.

" _We're much too small to be noticed by the Brutes' radar. Only by visual will they see you. Turn on Active Camouflage."_ D'Suvai said into the comms, turning his on. He vanished from sight, except for the small shimmer of refractive light. I activated mine as well, and I watched in mild awe as my one hand disappeared from view. My prosthetic arm drifted behind me, and with me not being able to see or feel it, the sharp metal structure cut through the cord without my knowing. I looked back and saw D'Suvai drifting with me, not connected to me. I swore and grabbed the prosthetic, ripping it off, clenching my teeth as it pressed against the semi-healed stump of my arm. Luckily enough, when Mizume had bandaged my arm, it was airtight, so I didn't implode when I took off the destroyed arm. I flung the robotic limb away from my and went into a cannonball position, awaiting the impact on the Frigate. I smashed into the purple hull and skidded along it, trying to grasp something with my left arm. My fingers snagged on an antenna, and I was jolted to the side, my shoulder dislocating. I still held on, though, as D'Suvai boosted over to me and grabbed onto the antenna as well. D'Suvai let go for a second to put my arm back in place before I turned to him.

"We're going to get inside, kill the crew, and drive this thing back to the fleet."I commanded. "Do you know how to fly this?"

"No, but the shipboard AI will." D'Suvai said, pulling out his Energy Sword with his uninjured hand before cutting a circular hole in the hull, letting the atmosphere in the corridor inside vent. Four stunned Brutes flew out with alarmed cries, drifting into space in stony silence. I jumped into the hole after letting it cool, running down the dark hallway of the short ship to the bridge. I kicked down the magenta door and fired aimlessly with my Plasma Rifle into the room. I downed a Brute Chieftain and four Majors before D'Suvai ran in with his guns blazing. The other bridge crew held onto their seats as the air in the room vented down the hallway and out the hole in the ship. I threw a grenade that landed next to four Brute Minors. It exploded, and suddenly, the room was very quiet. D'Suvai ran over to the forward control panel and tapped something in, a glowing sphere appearing on the center dashboard.

"Hello, I am Covenant Shipboard AI _Arcus_. How can I assist you, Chieftain Numar?" The AI said in a higher-pitched Elite voice.

"Arcus, I need you to fly this ship out of system to the Mendirae System. I also want to override the identification on this ship from 'Covenant' to 'Sword.'"

"Acknowledged. Slipspace course set. Identification override complete, ship now known as the Sword Frigate _Pride of Xerxi_." The AI said, its form pulsing as it spoke.

"Should we strap in? I don't know what it's like to be exposed to the elements in slipspace, and I don't particularly want to be sucked out in a dimension I have no experience with."

"Yes." D'Suvai replied simply, sitting down at a chair left of the captain's to strap into the emergency harness. He pulled out the flickering dagger from the back membrane of his armor, letting it and the cord fall to the ground. I sat down on the captain's chair and pulled down the harness over me, wrapping the strap around my stomach.

"Arcus, can you open a comm to all of the UNSC ships in the local area?"

"Yes, sir." The AI replied, bringing up a screen on the frigate's bridge window. "Relay your message."

"To all UNSC ships in this battle, follow the frigate broadcasting this message! This will lead you to a Swords of Sanghelios fleet! Please, stop fighting and follow us!" I yelled into the comm. The comm line turned off, and the frigate turned hard to its port side, the slipspace core activating. The ship rumbled, and in an instant was in another dimension.

* * *

 _Planet Mendirae, Sword Assault Carrier The Servant of Recompense, December 16th, 2552…_

" _This information is most… interesting, brother."_ The hologram of Thel 'Vadam said. I leaned over the hologram and flared my mandibles before speaking, my usually flowing crimson cloak wrapped around me. " _Admiral 'Te Misakan, you must keep this SPARTAN a secret from the Brutes and the Servants of the Abiding Truth."_

"The 'Servants of the Abiding Truth?'" I asked, unknowing of the term. The Arbiter sighed and nodded.

" _Indeed. After the Great Schism, and after the Shadow of Intent touched back down in Vadam Keep, many of my brothers have risen against the destruction of the Covenant, calling themselves the Servants of the Abiding Truth."_

"A very alarming thing to know. But alas, keeping the Zealot Major a secret is impossible now. He has seen battle among the Brutes, and they have more than likely passed on information of his presence to their leaders." I answered, putting a four-fingered hand on my armor-clad hip. The Arbiter clenched his mandibles together and looked at his hooves, his hand fiddling with a piece of his gray cloak.

" _Then keep him from becoming popular among your soldiers. He may soon be a war hero, but we can't have our Sangheili knowing too much about him. You may yet have Covenant supporters in your ranks."_

"We have been looking through our men and making a list of possible suspects. For some reason, the Field Marshal decided to allow one of the suspects to go on a covert mission to Ceresa!" I exclaimed, snarling slightly at the thought of 'Zehirae.

" _You allowed for him to go back?! We can't have him among the Brutes!"_ The Arbiter yelled, infuriated. I frowned and stared him down.

"It was not my doing, kaidon. It was the doings of Mizume 'Zehirae."

" _You blame him for an order that came from you."_

"It did not! I would never authorize the mission he's on!" I said, mildly annoyed that 'Vadam would accuse me of this frivolous action.

" _Then what you must do is-"_

" _This is Zealot Major Reynards to Imperial Admiral Tsutar 'Te Misakan. Do you read me? We're on the Sword Frigate Pride of Xerxi approaching from slipspace followed by a UNSC fleet. Do NOT fire on them!"_ Zachary butted into the network, his form appearing next to the Arbiter's on the holotable. The Arbiter looked very surprised at seeing and hearing the SPARTAN.

"I'll take care of this, sir." I said before quickly closing off the comm channel to Sanghelios.

" _Admiral. We need you to open the shields to the ventral hangar! We're coming in too hot to dock with the underside of the_ Recompense _!"_ Zachary exclaimed, pixelated sparks flying around his holographic form.

"Acknowledged." I turned from the holotable in the war room to the rest of the bridge. "Officer, lower hangar shields and evacuate."

"Yes, sir." Replied the black-clad Sangheili Minor. The Supercarrier vibrated slightly as the gargantuan shield system went offline. I looked out of the bridge window to see a frigate trailing smoke coming for the side of the ship. I squinted my eyes to see far in the distance as multiple slipspace portals opened up behind the formerly Brute frigate. Dozens of human warships came out of slipspace with their gunports closed and shields down.

"Order the fleet to not fire on those ships."

"Of course." The comms officer replied before saying something on the fleet-wide comm network. Two RCS-class Heavy Cruisers left the fleet to form up with the humans to guide them into formation with the Sword Armada.

"I need the Zealot Major in here now." I ordered before turning back to the holotable with my eyes closed.

* * *

D'Suvai had fallen unconscious during the slipspace flight, his body giving up after being up and fighting for three days straight. I let Arcus fly the frigate into _The Servant of Recompense_ 's hangar before I let myself relax in my seat, removing my EVA mask and breathing heavily as four Honor Guard Sangheili came into the ship and scooped both of us up, dragging us out the door as our weak forms recuperated from the long slipspace exposure. They dragged us from the hangar to the bridge, and let us down just inside the door to the war room. The Imperial Admiral stood at the holotable with his arms crossed, looking very mad.

"I don't care if it was your fault or not, Zealot Major, but I do not condone you going on reckless missions that could get you killed easily. We lost contact with five ships during that escapade that may or may not ever come back." He sighed. "I won't punish you or the Field Marshal, but know this: You are not in command here."

"Understood… sir." I muttered, my eyes very blurry. The Imperial Admiral smiled and walked over, helping me up.

"Then we are in agreement. Go to your room, restock your weapons and get some rest. I have something else for you to do."


	10. Shadows of a Fallen Empire

**Chapter Ten: Shadows of a Fallen Empire**

 _Planet Demeter, Covenant Encampment 026, December 17th, 2552…_

I crept along the ridgeline over the Covenant base, keeping my mandibles shut and my lights off in the cold early morning wind. I clutched my Carbine tightly as me and the Sangheili next to me made our way around the large encampment a thousand feet below. The other male Sangheili turned to me as we reached a crest in the rocks.

"Thaea, we must make our attack. It is almost daylight, and the Jiralhanae are beginning their scent sweep. We will be caught if we wait any longer."

"We must hold this position, 'Karus. This intel for the Swords is too important to make blind decisions with, brother."

"Sister, you underestimate me. I never said I was going to go in blind." 'Karus replied, a cocky smirk on his face. I rolled my eyes and continued examining the large half circle of purple tents. Males were males, always hotheaded and ready for battle without thought. It was a wonder that the Sangheili race was still alive after thousands of years with the same mindset. Never once had I married, and I never will. I am devoted to the life of a swordsman - and a high-ranking one at that - I have no time for family life like the females and children who populate our worn homeworld.

"I do not underestimate you. I am ordering you as your superior not to attack."

"'Malkam, when have I ever-"

"You're not going in." I paused. "Trade." I handed my Carbine to him, and he handed me his Beam Rifle. I used the projection scope and zoomed in on a pair of Jiralhanae who were conversing over an early-morning meal.

"What do you see?" 'Karus replied, his joking attitude disappearing completely. I nodded, not looking away from the scope while reaching out my hand.

"Battery." I ordered simply. He grabbed a plasma battery from his belt and handed it to me. I popped it into the rifle and zoomed in to the maximum, aiming right at the center of the Jiralhanae's forehead. I fired once, watching as the beam smashed into one Brute, and then the other - both falling to the ground at the same time. I let the rifle cool before taking aim again.

"Thaea! Watch out! Get out of the wa-!" I looked up from the scope to see a Gravity Hammer being smashed into 'Karus' skull. I cried out and jumped to the side, snatching my Carbine from 'Karus' limp hand. I dodged another strike from the Jiralhanae and jumped, scrambling up the sheer cliff. Brutes can't climb, so I was safe for the moment because it wasn't carrying anything other than the hammer. I took this moment of peace to climb as fast as I could. I reached the lip of another ridge and climbed up, immediately running into the thick forest ahead. As I kept running, I left the enraged howls of the Jiralhanae behind, and suddenly I was in complete silence. I fell to my knees as the exhaustion from running caught up to me, and I lay back to recuperate for a few minutes.

I must've fallen asleep, because I woke up deep into the morning. Demeter's twin stars gleamed brightly in the purplish-blue sky. I sat up, shaking the dry leaves off of me, and took a deep breath. _I just watched my blood brother die by the hands of a Brute._ I thought, looking down at my shaking hands. _And I did nothing to save him._ I stood up and looked around. There was nothing around me except trees and a small stream. I walked due north, hoping that my fighter was still there where I had landed. Seven miles later, I still hadn't come to my landing zone. I looked up to the sky to cry out to the gods, but then I heard a low whirring. A Sword Frigate, purple with red war paint, soared over, firing on the Brute camp. My comm fizzled, and a voice broke through.

" _Strike Leader 'Malkam, we've come to retrieve you."_ A very human voice said. The frigate dipped down and hovered over me. Extension lines lowered from the pod bay, and two figures dropped down. One was Field Marshal 'Zehirae, and the other… was a human?! I stood at attention as the Field Marshal walked up to me, but I kept my eyes on the human. It was odd, the human was wearing the armor of a Major, but wore the symbol of the Varlemai Family. I looked to the Marshal with a questioning eye.

"Strike Leader, where is Stealth Major 'Karus?" 'Zehirae asked. I looked down, and he sighed.

"We need to go. Look, they're launching fighters. I'm going to get into the AA gun, but we need to go, Mizume." The human said, walking back to the frigate. I turned to the Field Marshal and made him stop from following.

"With respect, Marshal, but, what in a thousand hells is a _human_ doing wearing our armor?"

"He's a SPARTAN, and is a better warrior with more honor than many of our own men." The Field Marshal replied stiffly, looking back at the human. I raised my bald eyebrows in surprise, _a Demon was among us? What have the kaidons done?_

"You know we should be allowing for the humans to meddle in our affairs, Mizume."

"We must. On our own, the Sword of Sanghelios will fall unless we have human aid."

"But we promised never to have humans in our civil war! This is our fight."

"And they have been pulled into it." I sighed, exasperated, and walked past 'Zehirae in the direction of the frigate. The human was firing on the incoming Banshee fighters with the topside plasma cannon, and he downed four. I shrugged and climbed up the cable into the miniature hangar, walking to the small compartment that housed the AA cockpit. I knocked and came in, looking down on the human. He was too engrossed in firing on the Brutes to notice me, and I took this moment to sit in the seat next to him and take control of the other turret. The Banshee pilots were quite bad at flying, and weren't avoiding the weapons fire that well, and they were easy to shoot down.. The frigate turned to its side and rose, shooting into the upper atmosphere in seconds.

"So, we came one hundred and seventy million miles to save one person." The human said next to me, his face still glued to the screen of the targeting scope.

"I do not approve of you being here."

"And yet I still am." He replied, looking at me finally. I took a moment to look him over. He had fair skin - a trait never seen among Sangheili - dark brown hair - another trait not seen among us - and dark brown eyes. He stood at a mere six-foot-two, and was missing his right arm.

"Technically, you're breaking the treaty by being here."

"Technically, I didn't even know about the treaty until I was already fighting for you." He said quickly, raising an eyebrow. I scoffed and stood up, walking to the doorway.

"Do not expect me to help you, human."

"Likewise, Strike Leader.

* * *

I stood up from the seat with a sigh, deactivating manual control of the cannon, allowing for Arcus to take control again. Following the Strike Leader, we walked down the hallway towards the bridge. The hole in the wall that had been cut by me was not there any longer - patched up hastily by the one Huragok on _The Servant of Recompense._

"I never got your name." I said, trying to make conversation.

"And you never will." The Elite replied, hands folded behind her back. I looked out of the eye-height windows of _The Pride of Xerxi_ at the planet below us and sighed. I had never done this much space travel before. The most I had done was the transfer from Reach to Indicative last week. I put my hand to my forehead and frowned. It really had only been a three days since I had been taken from Indicative to fight alongside the Swords of Sanghelios. The Strike Leader stopped and turned to me.

"What?" I asked, putting my hand to my side.

"If you are to fight, you will need both arms. Why has the Field Marshal not given you a prosthetic?" She asked gruffly, looking at my semi-healed stump. I shrugged.

"I had one, it was destroyed. All of the other prosthetics, including the ones in the medical room on this ship are your size, not mine."

"Indeed." She muttered. "You know that yours wasn't scaled down? All prosthetics automatically fit themselves to the wearer."

"Oh. Then I should probably get another one." I replied, feeling mildly stupid. I opened a door next to us and stepped in. Inside the small medical room was a bunk, some amputation equipment, and a rack of different kinds of prosthetics. I grabbed one for a right arm and held it over the stump of my arm. Small strands extended from the attaching end of the prosthetic, connecting themselves to the end of my arm. I winced as the string-like robots pushed against the healing wound, but then it suddenly stopped. I looked down, and there it was, just on my arm - no pain whatsoever. The pieces of armor on the outside moved around and adjusted to my body size, and soon, except for the fact that it had four fingers, it was the same size as my left arm.

"Good. Now that you can function, we must get back to the Fleet. The Fleetmaster will want the intel I have gotten."

"I understand." I paused and peeked my head out into the hallway. "Mizume, set course for Mendirae!"

"Already done." His low voice replied from the small bridge. The Strike Leader turned to me with a questioning stare.

"How is it, human, that you trust the Field Marshal so much, and vice versa, that you use each other's first names? Had I not known any better, I would think you were spiting him."

"Quite the opposite, really. It's not the fact that we trust each other, it's the fact that I have to work together with your species, and I need to get to know my operatives on a more… personal level."

"'Operatives.' You speak as if you are a real Sangheili leading his men to battle."

"Although I am not Sangheili, I do lead soldiers to battle."

"I will not follow you."

"And you also won't support me, tell me your name, or help me. Thank you for clearing this up for me." I spat, quite annoyed. But then, I shouldn't be annoyed, how would I feel if we had a Sangheili among the UNSC ranks? I wouldn't support it either.

"Mm, then we may duel to clear things up."

"I'd rather not. This ship has thin walls - I'd rather not be sucked into space."

"No matter."

"'No matter?' Hm, I shall consult the Field Marshal."

"The way you speak of him - do you outrank him or does he outrank you?"

"I hold the rank of Zealot Major."

"What?! Why must the kaidons be so foolish! Placing a human at such a high rank… it's blasphemy."

"Blasphemy? I thought that you-"

"You think nothing, human."

"Ah, do I?"

"Yes. And I will extinguish you for it." She reached down and grabbed her Energy Sword, activating it with a loud growl. I snatched the Imperial Admiral's Vorpal Talon and activated it, holding the glowing blades in front of my chest. The Strike Leader, at seeing the great blade, flared her mandibles in astonishment and lowered her sword.

"Fight me, if you wish it." I said, doing a quick passè next to her to keep her in the center of the hallway. She deactivated the sword and put it back on her belt.

"I shall not." She said, her voice wavering. 'Zehirae, who had stood from the captain's chair and was leaning against the doorway, smiled thinly and walked over to me.

"A great challenge he would be to overcome, Thaea 'Malkam." 'Zehirae said, looking at her pointedly. She snarled at him using her name, and turned away, walking down the hallway to one of the barracks. Mizume laughed loudly.

"What is it?" I asked, deactivating my blade.

"I never liked her. Unlike the rest of the Sanghelios Home Guard, she was always one of the more… privileged ones."

"I see."

"We're about to arrive at the fleet. I'd advise strapping in." Mizume said, leading me to the bridge. I sat down in the captain's chair and strapped in. He sat at the radar and comms station, putting on a large headset.

"Countdown, Field Marshal?"

"Entering real space in three, two, one, now." Instead of feeling the sudden rush in my chest as we entered normality, I was jolted forward and thrown against my harness, my arms, legs, and neck dangling forwards as the _Pride of Xerxi_ flew end over end into a debris field. Klaxons blared, and the screens were warning of a coming impact. I was jarred in my seat as the frigate was hit with something big. On the main screen, half of a destroyed cruiser was dragging a long wound in the bottom hull of the ship, exposing the ventral hallways to space.

"What happened?!" I yelled to Arcus, whose yellow, spherical pulsed at its computer dock.

"Unknown. Previously clear course has been altered. We have exited into a debris field."

"I understand that, but debris of what?! That was a cruiser that hit us!"

"Checking coordinates." I took a deep breath as it thought. The ship shook as bits of debris and shattered pieces of starships smashed into the _Pride_.

"Where are we?!" 'Zehirae yelled, looking at Arcus as it went through the ship's computer.

"These coordinates are exactly where the Sword Fleet should be." Arcus replied, bringing up a 3D wire map of the planet. The blue dots that should represent the thousands of ships of the Sword Attack Fleet were gone, replaced with yellow dots showing debris.

"Most likely, the ships were destroyed by the Supercarriers jumping out."

"Supercarriers?"

"Yes. I am getting readings of three slipspace gates open on the far side of the planet. Bringing up visual." On the main screen, a fuzzy video feed opened up. In between the wreckage and the shadow of space, a black object moved, illuminated by gargantuan engines. There were three gates, two of them closed already, and the third engulfing the unknown ship. It wasn't right…

"Arcus, those can't be Supercarriers. They're much too large to be of the Supercarrier class, and also, we never colored our ships black." 'Zehirae stated, looking at the screen in awe at the giant starship. From what I knew, that ship was over two times the size of the normal Supercarrier, and, as 'Zehirae had said, the ship was colored black with purple war stripes.

"Their identification is unknown, but a symbol on the side allies them with the Covenant Empire."

"They cannot be Brutes. They would not think of something so great. The creators, and probably crew, of those ships are the San'Shyuum."

"How? I've never even seen a Prophet that was out of a hover throne!" I yelled as the ship lurched right. The internal gyroscope of the frigate misaligned, sending the artificial gravity spinning. My arms and legs dangled from the harness as I was pressed against it, the artificial gravity pointed towards the front of the ship instead of at the floor.

"Arcus, capture that video feed and get us out of here! Track the signatures of those ships."

"But sir, I am not technically _reading_ those ships. It was a visual account. There is no radar or heat signature coming from the slipspace gates or the ships." Arcus replied, the AIs monotone voice sounding mildly confused. I raised my eyebrows, and Mizume was agape.

"Impossible."

"It seems that it is possible."

"Arcus, get us out of here! Emergency jump!" 'Zehirae yelled, pointing forwards at an open gap between two halves of a destroyed Assault Carrier. A slipspace gate opened up in front of the ship, and the _Pride of Xerxi_ was soon out of system.

 _Deep Space, Sword Frigate Pride of Xerxi, December 17th, 2552…_

The trip in slipspace was quiet, and when we emerged in real space, even more so. None of us knew if any of the Sword Fleet had survived, and whether we were the only ones left of the Swords of Sanghelios. I sat in the captain's chair with my hands to my temples. Even if we weren't the only ones left, there were at least a billion Sword soldiers dead. And, just to add to it, we now have a damaged ship. I sighed and unstrapped from the harness as the gyroscope stabilized, walking down the hallway to the room where 'Malkam was. I opened the door and peered into the room. The lights had shut off in the room, so it was quite dark.

"What happened?" I heard a voice ask me. She emerged from the shadows into the light coming from the hallway, startling me. She walked with a slight limp, and clutched her side. I stepped back and helped her out of the room. She shook my hand off her shoulder as she stood up straight, glaring down at me. I sighed and leaned against the wall with my arms crossed.

"Your false Prophets destroyed the whole Sword Fleet." I replied slowly. "We haven't found any traces of survivors yet from our visuals."

"What?"

"Right now, it seems we're the only ones left out here." I said with my eyes closed.

"We must take a scan, then, of the pieces of wreckage. We must find _The Servant of Recompense._ "

"For once, I agree." I said before walking back to the bridge. 'Zehirae brought up a 3D model of Mendirae and all of the wreckage. I leaned against the wall and examined the picture. On the far side were three slipspace gates, and the tail end of a ship. It seemed that 'Malkam noticed the same thing.

"Field Marshal, if you could magnify and color sector A37 by U49." She asked. Mizume wordlessly zoomed in and filled it in with color to differentiate it from the rest of the wreckage.

"It's not like any of the pictures I've seen of Supercarriers, and looks nothing like _The Servant of Recompense_ at all. I mean, it's similar, but…"

"As 'Zehirae said earlier, it's much larger than a regular Supercarrier, I estimate almost two times, which means it's close to sixty kilometers long."

"And the color? I've never seen a Covenant ship colored black _or_ gray, only shades of purple."

"It is a tradition that goes back millennia, the fact that the San'Shyuum have done this is a disgrace to a trillion souls." Mizume said calmly, his arms crossed in front of him. His face betrayed his collected demeanor, his facial features contorted in a snarl.

"Is it experimental? Or are these some of those 'secret' weapons the Prophets developed years ago."

"Experimental. Or if these really were developed some time ago, the San'Shyuum have gotten better at hiding their secrets."

"What is the status of the flagship? We cannot have lost the Fleetmaster and the Imperial Admiral."

"Yes, Arcus, can you scan for the _Servant?_ " 'Zehirae asked, staring blankly outside of the ship. Arcus appeared as his spherical form next to Mizume.

"Of course. Please state what I am specifically looking for to identify."

"Look for any wreckage with Shade of Sanghelios inscripted on it. Also look for pieces of Supercarrier-class Chassis'. You may find pieces of the _Charismatic Swordsman_ , which would also be good, but search specifically for the _Servant_."

"Acknowledged, beginning scan." The 3D picture zoomed back out, and a blue line washed over the screen multiple times. It pinged objects and highlighted them red. The scan stopped, and Arcus appeared above the picture.

"What have you found?" I asked, looking at the highlighted pieces. Arcus raised the highlighted wreckage out of the picture, the 3D map fading away. He arranged the pieces to fit together as a ship.

"All of the pieces matching 'Supercarrier-class Chassis.' I found no match for Shade of Sanghelios." Arcus replied, analysing the crumpled figure of a macerated Supercarrier.

"If you found no match for Shade of Sanghelios, then that could mean that _The Servant of Recompense_ could've escaped!" 'Zehirae said, standing up with a weak smile. "Could you scan for one more ship?"

"Which."

"The Sword Cruiser _Patriarch of Heian_."

"Scanning now." I walked over to him and raised my eyebrows slightly.

"A friend?"

"Brother." I lowered my gaze at the desperate tone in his voice. The chances of his brother being alive were slim.

"Scan shows zero. The _Patriarch of Heian_ is not present." Mizume's eyes widened and his mandibles hung open.

"Onai…" He muttered, clenching his hands over and over again. Thaea stood on the opposite side of the bridge looking at the 3D figure of the San'Shyuum Supercarriers on a datapad. Her head perked up, and she raised a hand to get our attention.

"Field Marshal! I think I have found something. On the rear ventral of the Supercarrier. It's a name and number."

"What is it?"

"It reads _Archon - 03_." She relayed, clutching the datapad tightly in one hand while rubbing the back of her gray head with the other.

"That's all?"

"There's more, but the picture is too pixelated to see."

"Arcus, enhance." Mizume ordered quickly, looking 'Malkam in the eye.

"Impossible. That picture is at maximum zoom as it is." Arcus replied calmly.

"Damn it. Arcus, can you track the slipspace signatures?" 'Zehirae asked, putting his arms behind his back.

"From the information I gathered, I can find a _zone_ in which those ships would come out of slipspace."

"A 'zone'?" I asked.

"Yes, a two hundred-fifty million mile sphere in which the coordinates triangulate to. Depending on solar wind and unprecedented slipspace anomalies, the sphere was expanded."

"So we're searching for a needle in a haystack."

"More like finding a sand grain in an ocean. This is near impossible with the feeble scanners we have on this ship."

"Field Marshal, I am getting multiple readings on local sonar coming out of slipspace."

"What?" Mizume walked over to the window and leaned on the railing, looking out over the black gulfs of space. Far off the starboard bow, four glowing blue portals opened up, revealing over a dozen ships.

"Identify those. Are those Covenant or Sword?" I queried, coming up next to 'Zehirae.

"Sword. All of them." Came Arcus' reply. I sighed sadly.

"That's only a fraction of the armada."

"That's less than a hundredth." Thaea said, typing on a nearby console. "We're being hailed, top priority."

"Open it." 'Zehirae replied, watching the ships closely. The comms crackled to life overhead, and Tsutar 'Te Misakan's voice poured through.

" _We'd thought we'd lost you to the Covenant. Thank the gods that you are operating. Have your AI dock with the Supercarrier."_ The Imperial Admiral ordered. _The Servant of Recompense_ floated in space with large dents in its hull.

"Their weapons must be far advanced if they could do this to a Supercarrier."

"Indeed. Arcus, set course for docking with _The Servant of Recompense_." Mizume said, sitting down at a nearby chair. The ship dipped and sped forwards before whirling around again to raise and dock slowly with the Supercarrier. Once the docking clamps were on, and _The Pride of Xerxi_ was completely inside of the ventral hangar, the shields closed once again. The side ramp just outside of the bridge lowered, and the doors to the bridge opened. I walked from the bridge to the top of the ramp, looking down. A group of red-clad Elites had already gathered at the bottom, looking up at the Corvette. 'Zehirae came up next to me and stepped down, his hand clutching the railing tightly.

"Field Marshal, Zealot Major, Strike Leader. Welcome back." The Fleetmaster announced, pushing his way to the front of Sword Elites. I followed Mizume down to the ground, coming to a stop in front of the Fleetmaster. Thaea came down and sat down on the second to last step, loosening her assault harness until it was one step close to falling apart. I sighed and loosened mine as well, the chest and back plates raising off of my skin-tight jumpsuit. The Fleetmaster put a hand on 'Zehirae's shoulder and said something, then turned to me.

"Fleetmaster 'Varliemai, you can't be serious, you know what those things can do!" Mizume exclaimed, his bottom mandibles hanging down. I perked up at hearing the Fleetmaster's last name; 'Varliemai.

"What hubris to believe that we cannot prevail." 'Varliemai said, turning back to Mizume with his mandibles shut tight. He looked back at me and let out a long sigh.

"You two need a rest. Woman, come with me." 'Malkam snarled as the Fleetmaster addressed her. I nodded, cast a glance at Thaea, and followed Mizume out of the hangar to our rooms.


	11. Before the Storm

**Chapter Eleven: Before the Storm**

 _Deep Space, Sword Assault Carrier The Servant of Recompense, December 17th, 2552…_

I walked through the hallway following Arka 'Varliemai, my fists clenched and my mandibles set. I looked down to the ground and controlled my anger at the Fleetmaster as I followed him to his quarters. We have known each other for thirty years now, since we were mere adolescents training at the same school back in Qivro, and have had an... interesting history. After I rejected marriage at the age of nineteen, and professed my love of the sword, I was rejected from the Malkam Keep. When I was wandering the salt flats outside of the Malkam Keep, I came across a patrol from the 'Varliemai family when they were searching for a catch for dinner. They saw my pitiful condition, and took my under their wing. A young Arka 'Varliemai became my mentor for the art of swordfighting, and in only a few years under his teaching, I became a master swordsman - or, more like, a swords _woman_.

"You got all of the intel we needed?" 'Varliemai asked suddenly, stopping in the center of the hall. I almost bumped into him as I was entranced with my thoughts. I snapped out of it and looked up at him, standing at attention.

"Yes, I did. In fact, I got more than we needed. From what I found out on planet Demeter, the Storm Covenant have made many major troop movements in the last month. The base that 'Karus and I had been scouting was the last one we had seen on radar." I paused to look down at the floor trying to remember the day before. "Just inside of one of the bases we scouted were at least four dozen Covenant soldiers."

"Four dozen? Scouts on Altera and Minare have only seen patrols of eight or ten. From what you're saying, there were many dozen soldiers in _each camp_. They might be planning a major front against the Swords of Sanghelios. We cannot allow for the Covenant to make another rise to power. We've quelled the San'Shyuum back to their homeworld - until now - and the Jiralhanae have only just begun attacks after regrouping at Doisac. What could they be planning?" Arka asked, rubbing his lower left mandible in worry. It was the first time in many years I had seen the Fleetmaster so greatly troubled. Then again, this was his first major loss in his career as a soldier. Even during the Human-Covenant War, he had won every single engagement he had been in with minimal loss - a fact that the Prophets had failed to take into account, which led to him not being promoted to Imperial Admiral.

"Indeed, they may be planning something we have no knowledge of. But with respect sir, after the death of Major 'Karus, I would rather not be sent out on another mission for a while."

"Of course, a death is not something to be taken lightly. You are hereby relieved of ground duty for three months. However, Strike Leader, right now? I need all of the intel you gathered." He said, rubbing his hands together. I nodded and stepped next to him to open his door, which we had come up to.

"I can tell you all that _I_ know. Major 'Karus also went on a few runs and didn't tell me anything, so some intel may be lost."

"As long as we know an estimate of how many ships and soldiers the Storm will be using against us, we might be able to counter them. As you may know, we don't have… as many soldiers as we used to." The Fleetmaster said, looking down at the last part. I sighed and patted his shoulder lightly.

"My one question is what happened? We jumped in and we saw destruction and three giant carriers."

"You saw them?!"

"You didn't?"

"No, they jumped in suddenly and destroyed us in seconds. _The Servant of Recompense_ and a few other ships only survived because we were farther away and we hid between wreckage. We never saw them."

"We came in as they were leaving." I said, stepping into his spacious room. He followed close behind, sidestepping me to sit down at a chair in the corner. He wordlessly gestured for me to sit in the chair next to him, and he crossed his arms.

"What did they look like?"

"I don't have to describe it, I can show you." I said, pulling out the datapad I had had on _The Pride of Xerxi_. I turned it on and put it on _Project Mode_ , watching as the hologram raised up off of the screen. I handed the datapad to 'Varliemai and leaned over him, getting the datapad to the 3D model of the San'Shyuum Supercarrier. At the sight of it, Arka's mandibles hung open and his eyes widened. He, apparently, had never seen a ship so great before.

"That ship is…"

"Unlike any other you've seen, yes." I finished. "But here's the interesting part. When Mizume, the… human, and I came out of slipspace, they did not fire on us. But, they must've known we were there from the obvious slipspace signature, right?"

"Of course. You would have been in plain sight just from the electro-magnetic pulse that the gate created."

"Maybe they're testing us?"

"Another one of the San'Shyuum's trivial games? Probably." 'Varliemai reached under his desk to get something. "Here, eat, you must be famished."

"Sir?" From under his desk he pulled out a pair of dry, white nutrient blocks. I wasn't going to be rude, but I looked at him oddly before taking it between my mandibles, slowly dissolving the mineral powders - mineral blocks were only handed out to soldiers on battlefields, far from the hunting grounds on the carriers. He sighed and began taking off the armor from his limbs.

"I'm sorry I don't have anything better to give you, Thaea, but our hunting grounds were destroyed in the battle."

"I see. So, here's a question; how did you find us in deep space? I thought we made a random jump."

"You did, but your ship has a long-range tracker on it tuned to _The Servant of Recompense_ 's frequency, so we were able to track you down soon enough."

"Good, good. So, how many of us are left?" I asked, watching the suddenly pained look on Arka's face. After removing the armor on his arms and legs he sat up and closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath.

"Of the two billion of our brothers in our armada, only two hundred thousand survive now. Our Sword brothers on Sanghelios know nothing of this incident, because our interplanetary comms have been knocked out." I stepped back in astonishment at the gargantuan number of dead. I was speechless, and for a moment I said nothing.

"Could we have done anything?"

"That is… one of the many questions I have asked myself today. But if I am to be honest with myself, I believe the answer is no. The attack was too sudden, and the San'Shyuum have far superior technology." He replied shakily. Suddenly, I heard a frantic knock at the door, before a voice began to shout.

" _Fleetmaster! We have an urgent situation, please come to the bridge immediately! The Imperial Admiral is waiting!"_

"Understood! I will be right there!" The Fleetmaster yelled back, getting up from his chair, ignoring his armor on the ground - in fact, he let his chest and back plates fall to the ground before walking to the door, absentmindedly flexing his muscles as they were released from the tight armor. We ran down the kilometer-long hallway to the bridge, opening the large door quickly before stepping into a bustling war room.

In the center of the war room, above the hologram table, was a projection of Thel 'Vadam standing with his arms crossed behind his back. He looked down upon the Imperial Admiral, who was crowded among Sword soldiers, with a calm stare, his eyes peeking out from behind the crest in the large headdress. As we approached the table, he looked up from Admiral 'Te Misakan's piercing gaze and smiled thinly.

" _Fleetmaster 'Varliemai, I have heard about recent events. It has been an abysmal day for the Swords of Sanghelios."_ He said, swishing the crimson cloak behind him.

"Arbiter, how…?"

"Fleetmaster, sir, we repaired the comms tower a few minutes ago." A Sangheili Artillery Master butted in, gesturing to two other Sangheili standing next to him, who bowed their heads at the Fleetmaster. Arka nodded and looked back at 'Vadam.

"I was told there was an urgent matter I needed to attend to?" 'Varliemai queried, stepping closer to the hologram table. The Arbiter nodded and crossed his arms.

" _Indeed. After hearing what your SPARTAN, Zachary Reynards, and Mizume 'Zehirae had to say about the Supercarriers, I have made a connection. A few days ago, my operatives inside of The Servants of the Abiding Truth came out with information on talks with the San'Shyuum about new ships that were going into testing. I would assume these are the same thing, because they said that the ships were 'larger than usual', and 'more effective than a fleet of ships.'"_ 'Vadam said, coughing once afterwards.

"I would agree, but who are these 'Servants of the Abiding Truth?'" I asked, unknowing of the term.

" _As I have described to the Imperial Admiral, they are a radical group separate from the Covenant Storm that are completely Sangheili. They are among our brothers, my friend."_

"Traitors." 'Varliemai took a breath before continuing. "So these ships. These are not completely manned by the San'Shyuum? Our own brothers may be aboard these war machines?"

" _They are."_

"We have no way to fight them."

" _You do indeed, Fleetmaster._ "

"How?"

" _Use your men like they were trained - to fight with rifles and swords not in space, but on flat ground."_

"Sir?"

" _Board the ship. If you cannot fight them with plasma mortars and battleships, fight them where their shields do not block you._ "

"Arbiter, how do we do this?" I asked, stepping forwards. 'Vadam looked over at me pointedly.

"Thaea…" 'Varliemai muttered, looking at me without turning his head.

"No, seriously. From what you are saying about the destruction left behind by these Supercarriers, they wouldn't allow any ship to get through, no matter how small. How do you propose we get on board?"

" _There are a few ways, one would be to insert with jetpacks only from very far away. Another would be to ram the Supercarrier and get on during the chaos, and a last idea would be to risk flying in with the remaining fleet."_ The Arbiter said, his eyes flicking between me and 'Varliemai. I nodded and stepped back, ignoring Arka's hard stare.

"Arbiter, we cannot spare many ships, no matter how small. Do you think you can spare us even the smallest of corvettes?"

" _I thought, from what Zachary has said, that you have human warships with you."_

"Ah, a piece of information our SPARTAN has missed, Arbiter. When the San'Shyuum arrived, the humans escaped immediately, leaving without notice as our ships were bombarded."

" _This is most… unpleasant news, Fleetmaster. But we shall speak of this later. For now, take your leave, I will send a battlegroup your way when I can."_

"Thank you, Arbiter." And with that, 'Vadam's figure disappeared from the table. I looked at 'Varliemai and frowned.

"The humans abandoned us?" I asked, quite cross at humanity.

"We do not know that they _abandoned_ us yet, Thaea. Do not jump to conclusions." He gently reprimanded, leaning over me slightly.

"Yes…" I replied, looking past him at the Imperial Admiral, who stood at the holographic table with his eyes closed.

"Now come, you must be tired. For now, we shall retire." 'Varliemai said.

"Yes, I concur." I agreed, following him from the bridge.


	12. Automaton

**Chapter Twelve: Automaton**

 _Deep Space, Sword Assault Carrier The Servant of Recompense, December 18th, 2552…_

I awoke refreshed, but with a low ache at the fading wound on my abdomen. Rising slowly from my bunk under 'Zehirae, I walked over to the opposite corner of the room to get my armor. Sitting down next to the metal rack holding up my armor, I grabbed the lower leg plates and slid them on over my jumpsuit, waiting a second for the nanolaminate armor to lock together before moving on to the two-toed boots. Pushing my foot into the opening, I waited it to fit to my foot before tightening it and putting the extra armor piece over my heel and top of my foot. Standing up once again, I hefted the two large torso pieces over my head, pushing them together under my arm. Grabbing the final pieces of armor, I slid the one regular-sized plate over my left arm, and the oversized plate on my prosthetic. Pressing the button to activate the armor's shields, I pulled the helmet over my head and turned on the HUD. Finally completed.

I walked over to the bunks again and climbed up the ladder a few steps to peek at 'Zehirae, who was out cold with his mandibles flared open. I shook his leg to get him up from his slumber. He groaned and opened one eye, closing his mandibles quickly as he looked groggily at me. Nodding wordlessly, he sat up with his avian-like legs dangling over the side of the bed before letting out a great sigh.

"I'm just guessing we should get up since I hear commotion outside the door." I explained after he shot me an annoyed stare at being woken up.

"Commotion? Oh, by the _gods…_ " He muttered, jumping to the floor to grab his Energy Sword from a counter next to the bed, ignoring his armor completely. I trotted behind him as he walked to the wide door in only half his jumpsuit.

"What is it?" I queried, not knowing what Mizume was talking about.

"I swear, if those two survived that battle…" He spat bitterly while typing into the door's console. The door slid open to reveal two Grunts fighting over a half-charged Plasma Pistol. Noticing the half nude Field Marshal in the doorway, they froze and dropped the useless weapon.

"Field Marshal 'Zehirae! Sir!" They both squeaked in unison, standing as tall as they could. I hid a laugh behind my hand and stepped up to the Field Marshal. From the deepest parts of his throat, he uttered a low growl that could raise the hairs on the backs of anyone's necks. The two Grunts eeped and ran down the hallway in fear.

"In the name of Vaahn, why did _those_ two have to survive the San'Shyuum attack?!" 'Zehirae said loudly after the Grunts were further down the corridor.

"'Those two?'' I asked, smiling.

"Kiyar and Miyar, twins who used to be apart of my legion."

"Mm, I won't ask why they 'were' apart of it, but I understand. They already seemed annoying." I toyed, noticing his obvious annoyance at the two. He put a hand to the top of his gray, bumpy head and shrugged.

"Used to be that every morning they would make a form of commotion outside the door. Guess they didn't get my _message_ when I locked them in an airlock for three days." 'Zehirae said nonchalantly, getting into his armor. I laughed and grabbed my Needle Rifle and Vorpal Talon, putting them both in their respective locations on my armor. Walking into the hallway, I leaned against the outside of the door and crossed my arms as I waited for Mizume to exit the temporary quarters. He walked up next to me in full combat gear, wearing his SPARTAN-themed armor.

"So, what now?"

"We should probably go and see Fleetmaster 'Churoiya."

"You mean Fleetmaster ' _Varliemai_?" I asked. The Field Marshal blanched and facepalmed before turning to me.

"Yes, of course. I should not forget. 'Varliemai became his name when he was assimilated into the Varliem clan and became a Swordsman."

"Interesting."

"Even before he fully joined the Varliem, he used their surname before then to be… _ready_ , I guess, ever since his adolescence."

"How do you know this?" I asked, curious.

"I was training to be a Swordsman myself at the great schools of Varliem when he arrived. He was older than me, but had less experience with the art of swordsmanship. It was an odd experience. And then he had his other friend, Thae- wait." He put two and two together in his mind and facepalmed again. "Now it makes sense!"

"Hm?" I wondered, completely lost now.

"'Varliemai's friend was named Thaea! An exile from the Malkam Keep!" He said, his mandibles flaring more than usual.

"I'll keep this information in mind." I said before walking down the corridor. He followed in relative silence until we reached the hangar, where we spotted _The Pride of Xerxi_ sitting with power cords, scaffolding and dozens of technicians crowding its purplish-white hull.

"There's 'Varliemai." Mizume said, pointing to a tall figure standing behind a piece of scaffolding talking to a Skirmisher Technician. I walked over - ducking under scaffolding and live wires - to 'Varliemai and leaned against a nanolaminate panel next to him. He glanced at me, shooed away the technician, and turned to face 'Zehirae and me.

"Field Marshal, Zealot Major." He said blankly, clutching a datapad at his side. Mizume stepped forward to consult 'Varliemai.

"Fleetmaster, I know the attack only just happened, but I must know," he paused to look down at his hooves, "what is our plan now?"

"That is one of the many grand questions I've asked myself recently, and my answer put simply is… I don't know." He said, his face falling in obvious defeat. 'Zehirae nodded and put a hand to 'Varliemai's shoulder. "I have put together every single outcome that I could think of that involves attacking the enemy directly that _doesn't_ involve sending my precious few men aboard those Supercarriers, and all of them end with us being eliminated completely."

"I'll go." I said firmly, stepping forward with a confident stride. The tone of the conversation rose when I stepped forwards, and 'Varliemai looked at me as if conflicted.

"Why? You would not risk your life for an alien cause. It does not benefit you in any way."

"If I had had that mindset, I wouldn't even be here right now, I would've just killed myself back in the shack on Indicative and never joined you." I paused for a moment to regather my thoughts. "I volunteer to go because I'm not one of your men. I have no connections with pretty much all of your soldiers, and I have nothing to go back to with the UNSC. If I'm going to do something to help the Swords of Sanghelios, I'll do this."

"A noble speech, my friend. But you have it all wrong. It has only been a few days since you first joined us on _The Servant of Recompense_ , but while most of our forces don't know you personally, yes, there are those… _select few_ that do, and we would not want to lose you." Mizume said, looking at me calmly.

"Lose me? I could do this easily. Infiltration was my top subject in combat class." I replied, raising an eyebrow at 'Zehirae. The Fleetmaster sighed and put his hands behind his back.

"Zealot Major, the ship you are planning to infiltrate is guarded by over a million soldiers. And there are _three_. The only feasible way to destroy the ship is from within, and that means destroying to core. If those Supercarriers are built anything like a normal one, the space between the core and any way off the ship is too far for you to go before the core explodes. Whoever embarks on this mission is not coming back." 'Varliemai clarified, taking one hand from behind his back to set the datapad he was holding on a nearby crate before resuming his original position.

"Then I'll die fighting for a good cause." The others were silent as I said this.

"I cannot allow you to do that."

"Why?"

"Because you are young. Unlike us, who have lived many decades surrounded by war, you are quite young. I might not be as old as others, but I only have thirty years left for me. You, on the other hand, have seventy, maybe eighty years. You are at a good age, Rey _-nhardhz_. You need to keep living." 'Varliemai said, having trouble pronouncing my last name. I smiled and nodded, before putting my hand on 'Varliemai's arm.

"I was made to die. That's the point of a SPARTAN, Fleetmaster." I said, accepting the harsh reality of it. My life, technically, was only just beginning. At the ripe age of twenty-two, I could be doing anything I want had I been a civilian, but that's not my life. I am a SPARTAN, made to protect people and to sacrifice themselves to uphold that if need be. They may not be humans, but they are damn well my friends.

"Sir! Fleetmaster! 'Karus and I might've just found a new exit point for escaping the San'Shyuum Supercarriers!" An Elite Minor yelled, jogging up while holding a projector with a 3D model of the picture we had captured on _The Pride of Xerxi_. Quickly setting down the projector on a crate, the Elite looked to us for confirmation to continue. Mizume nodded, and the Elite kneeled next to the model.

" _If_ the San'Shyuum Supercarriers are built like regular ones, the cores should be here." The Elite said slowly, pointing to the exposed keel of the massive starship.

"Of course, we have already come to this conclusion." 'Varliemai breathed impatiently, annoyed at the leisurely speed the other Elite was taking.

"Yes, but here's something we found. We found these black _lines_ right near the core room!" He paused to tilt the model and point to the blurry lines. "Now, the ship has over a million soldiers aboard it, right?" 'Zehirae nodded. "That means that there has to be enough escape pods for them to escape! We can assume that these lines are all _escape pods_ , if the cores are guarded on that ship with as much zeal as we do here."

"An assumption, simply, but a good one." I commented, sliding a finger underneath my helmet to scratch my head. I froze, however, when I got an idea.

"What is it, human?" The Elite Minor asked, mildly worried.

"What if we _lure_ them in?"

"What?!" The Fleetmaster and the Field Marshal exclaimed in unison.

"Okay, okay, okay, calm down. Now I have a question; what do you use to track your ships at long range, when both radar and sonar is useless?"

"Simple, we use long range transmitters." 'Varliemai said, looking at me questioningly.

"Transmitters… are they removable?"

"R-removable? Why would you ever need to do that?" 'Zehirae queried.

"We can get much better models and intel if we scan them at close range, yes?"

"Of course."

I smiled smugly and turned to 'Varliemai for what I was about to say.

"Then we send a ship into deep space to lay out the detached transmitters in that quadrant and light 'em up. We have one person stay floating in space with a scanner, and we can scan the Supercarriers as they try to attack the ships that aren't there! And then, as soon as they either A, destroy all the transmitters and leave, or B, just give up and leave, we can send in the same ship that laid out the transmitters to pick up the person." I said, catching my breath after I said it. For a good thirty seconds, 'Varliemai stared at me, and I wasn't sure what his reaction was with his emotionless expression.

"If I were commanding back when the armada was with its full strength, I would have scoffed and sent you away for even suggesting a plan that stupid. But now is not then, and I must say that the plan you just devised is probably the best course of action right now." He looked away, at the rest of the hangar, and gazed over his tired men for a second. "We need to have intel if we are to send someone into one of those carriers."

"Agreed." Mizume said, standing taller than 'Varliemai in his advanced armor. The Fleetmaster nodded and leaned against the hull of _The Pride of Xerxi_ , taking the moment to let out a long sigh.

"On another note, what is the status of the human fleet that was with us?" I asked, curious as to the whereabouts of the UNSC ships.

"Something I discussed with the Strike Leader last night… the humans left as soon as the San'Shyuum attacked."

"Excuse me?"

"Yes. Originally, I had thought that they left to regroup, but I have sent multiple messages to Thel 'Vadam to be relayed to your high command, and no response from your kind has been sent back. 'Vadam is also curious on this situation, and has asked me to question you about it." 'Varliemai clarified, looking down on me. I thought for a moment before turning back.

"It is unlike any commander I have seen to back away from a fight to defend his allies. My only idea would be that fighting against the San'Shyuum would somehow break the treaty." The Fleetmaster seemed to snap at this.

"I don't care about the damned treaty! If they hadn't left, half my men would be still alive!" 'Varliemai bellowed, punching into the nanolaminate plate next to him. I winced and looked away, sympathizing. It didn't matter whether it was breaking the treaty - there were at least a billion Sword soldiers dead, and at least half of them could still be alive if the UNSC hadn't pulled away. MAC guns could've easily fended off the Supercarriers long enough for the ships to escape… unless…

"Fleetmaster, back when the Covenant still reigned supreme, were the San'Shyuum working on remote-controlled starships?"

"Yes, of course. With the touch of a finger, a prophet could take control of _any_ starship, no matter if it was fitted with the technology or not."

"What?" I gasped.

"A prophet could control a whole fleet if he wanted to, all from the safe comfort of his throne."

"Those Supercarriers! If they are San'Shyuum in origin, that could mean that they simply took control of the UNSC ships and made them jump out!"

"That… is a possibility." 'Varliemai said, before slowly sitting down on the ground.


	13. The Calm

****Chapter Thirteen: The Calm****

 ** _Deep Space, Sword Assault Carrier The Servant of Recompense, December 18th, 2552…_**

 **After getting the plan okayed by the Imperial Admiral, it was a frenzy on who would be chosen to be the person** ** _left in space_** **. I volunteered, but of course, both 'Zehirae and 'Varliemai refused. The three remaining of 'Te Misakan's men were a viable choice, but they were still mourning over their fallen brothers.**

 **I sat on top of a crate in the hangar listening to Mizume and the Fleetmaster argue while I cleaned my armor. They discussed the fact that most Elites weren't trained for space combat, and that no one on the ship except the Imperial Admiral's men we- 'Varliemai froze and looked at me.**

 **"** **Fleetmaster, you can't be serious."**

 **"** **He is our last option. The San'Shyuum will be scanning for Sangheili tags, not human ones. They will gloss right over Zachary." 'Varliemai explained, glancing at 'Zehirae. Mizume sighed and removed his helmet to place a hand on his scaly head.**

 **"** **This is a very bad idea, to possibly sacrifice our greatest asset." He complained. "I'll have to clear this with the Imperial Admiral first."**

 **"** **Mm, this is my ship, is it not?" Arka said with a thin smile, his mandibles clamped shut as they curved up while looking sidelong at 'Zehirae. Letting out an immense sigh, Mizume walked over to me,**

 **"** **You're going to ask me whether or not I want to be dropped in space to scan the San'Shyuum's ships when they jump in. My answer is yes." I stated, pausing my wiping of my left leg armor to look up at 'Zehirae, who nodded his head quickly.**

 **"** **Well, then, I'll get you aboard the** ** _The Pride of Xerxi_** **to drop you and the transmitters."**

 **"** **If I may ask, where are we doing this?"**

 **"** **In a location the San'Shyuum know well, one of the old Covenant staging worlds. Thocela IV." 'Varliemai announced, walking up next to Mizume. As if on cue, the** **Sword Frigate** ** _The Pride of Xerxi_** **lowered itself into the hangar door from the maintenance bay above, the main entrance door on the ventral side opening up to reveal two Elite Majors.**

 **"** **That should be your crew." 'Zehirae said, walking slowly in the direction of the two Elites, who were making their way over to us. I stood up from the crate I was perched on, put my armor back on their respective body parts, and walked behind Mizume.**

 **"** **Fleetmaster, Field Marshal, Zealot Major." One Major, obviously the leader of the two from the red crest on his head, said as he stood in front of 'Zehirae. The second Major stood behind the first with his hands behind his back and his mandibles shut in a stern expression. I activated my HUD from the side of my helmet before looking over to 'Varliemai, who stepped forward to address the two Majors.**

 **"** **This is Zealot Major Zachary Rey-** ** _nhardhz_** **, he will be your superior on this specific task." 'Varliemai explained quickly. "I will relay the exact coordinates of where you are going and where to drop off specific transmitters when you take off. This mission is of utmost importance - I know the Zealot Major has years of combat experience, but you two have only been Majors for two weeks - hold the completion of this task with the highest honor, and know that you will be rewarded greatly for this."**

 **"** **I understand, Fleetmaster." The first Major said, only his mandibles moving as he spoke. It was very odd how this Elite stood - he held his Energy Sword in hand, but behind his back, and he stood stiffly with his legs close together and his eyes constantly flicked between the Fleetmaster and me.**

 **"** **Then we will begin immediately. Zachary, come with me, I will get you set with true Ranger armor." Mizume cut in. I raised an eyebrow and turned to face him.**

 **"** **But, I'm not Elite-size-!" Mizume raised a hand and I was silenced.**

 **"** **We will find a way. Your armor may be fitted with EVA technology, but the seals in your bodysuit cannot be trusted for prolonged missions in space. The battle earlier to defend the cores was but a taste of what a** ** _true_** **Sangheili can do in space."**

 **"** **I thought you said that the Elites on this ship weren't trained for-" I was cut off once again as, this time, 'Varliemai stepped forward.**

 **"** **After a major battle with the humans over one of our sacred worlds, most of our crew was killed by one of your** ** _Shiva_** **warheads. The remaining crew on this ship are the only ones who know how to really fight in space, but they are occupied with their assigned stations. All other Sangheili on this ship were only transferred three weeks ago from High Charity before we began our attack on the planet Indicative. The only ones capable of fighting in zero gee at this moment is you, the Admiral's men, and me." He looked over at Mizume with a relaxed face. "Even the Field Marshal here is still in advanced training for space combat."**

 **"** **You speak as if Zachary would be fighting a war. He is simply going to float in space with a handheld scanner and camera." Mizume commented, crossing his armored hand behind his back. 'Varliemai nodded and thought for a moment.**

 **"** **Correct, you may be, but I want him prepared. Just in case his theory about the IFF tags are false, and the San'Shyuum attack, I want him ready for potential combat." Just then, D'Suvai, with an herbal pack over his broken arm, walked up.**

 **"** **Then why not send me with him?" D'Suvai asked. 'Zehirae raised an eyebrow and looked at his arm, slung in a cast with the herbal pack.**

 **"** **In your condition?"**

 **"** **We're not going to be moving around much, are we? The job is to float in space with two objects, is it not?"**

 **"** **Yes, it is, but I'm not sending you with them. This mission only requires three people at minimum, two to operate the ship, and one to complete the actual mission. I'll be going with them, but only as an observer."**

 **"** **Do you have a person to calculate the exact positions of the transmitters and where they should be?"**

 **"** **Why? On that ship we have an advanced Covenant AI that follows our every order. There is no need."**

 **"** **Mm, there is, actually." D'Suvai looked at me with a half-smile. "I did some research while resting in the barracks, and I accessed** ** _The Pride of Xerxi_** **'** **s AI, Arcus. Arcus is damaged. His calculations, after I ran some tests, are actually slower than mine, and I'm not even a technical officer."**

 **"** **Why was I not notified sooner?!" 'Varliemai exclaimed. D'Suvai glanced at him with a proud gaze.**

 **"** ** _Someone_** **had kept me bedridden for a broken** ** _arm_** **. I would have told you sooner had you not posted two T'Vaoans at my door."**

 **"** **I did not order that- wait, we have T'Vaoans on our ship?" 'Zehirae questioned. I perked up at this - a lot of T'Vaoans had not joined the Swords, and had stayed with their Kig-Yar brothers at the sides of the Jiralhanae, which could also mean spies, lot's of them. From intel gathered, it was only a few days after the Great Schism, and it was an unsure time for everyone.**

 **"** **Find the two 'guards', and bring them to me. Neither of us posted them at your door, Hakiera, nor did we want you bedridden." 'Varliemai ordered, turning to the two Majors. The lead Major nodded and turned on his hoof before jogging to the door of the hangar to complete his task, soon joined by his subordinate after he fixed his helmet on his head.**

 **"** **D'Suvai…" 'Varliemai began, "go with Zachary. I will admit that I do not trust either of the Sangheili posted on the** ** _Xerxi_** **, and you are the only available soldier who has any form of friendship with him. You can fight without one arm, yes?"**

 **"** **He did a space-jump with me with his arm broken, and I did it without my prosthetic - we're both good." I replied with a lopsided smile.**

 **"** **So you did. There is one more person on the** ** _Xerxi_** **, although I don't know who, who will be in constant communication to know what exactly is going on."**

 **"** **Right. So, shall we go?" D'Suvai asked, looking directly at the Fleetmaster.**

 **"** **Yes. Mizume, guide them to the frigate. Victory to clan and kin, Zealot Major."**

 **"** **And to you, 'Varliemai. Let us go, then." I replied, walking in the direction of the frigate. I glanced at the top of the gangplank extended from the ventral side of the frigate, and noticed another figure standing there. Walking up to the metal platform, I looked up and adjusted my eyes, surprised by the site before me. Standing there in Elite armor was Cynthia Rivers, holding a Plasma Repeater and an Energy Sword.**


	14. Deception at Thocela IV

**Chapter Fourteen: Deception at Thocela IV**

 _Slipspace en route to Thocela IV, December 19th, 2552…_

I sat in the captain's chair reclined back with my hands behind my head. The long slipspace flight was very tiresome, even though nothing was happening. It didn't help that the colors of the slipspace dimension were a monotone collection of grays that swirled in a quite alluring pattern. Cynthia sat next to me in the First Officer's chair, and D'Suvai sat at the pilot's chair, both of them staring at the large three-dimensional projection of the San'Shyuum Carriers. I sighed and sat up, waiting a moment for the back of the seat to come back up with me, and typed into the small keypad on the arm of the chair. Arcus, the shipboard AI, appeared in a simple spherical form, the translucent purple bubble fluctuating as it spoke.

"We will be exiting slipspace in two hours." The AI stated.

 _That's all you needed to say?_ I thought, leaning my cheek on my metal left hand, closing my eyes while pushing into the smooth metal contours of the prosthetic.

"Zealot Major." I heard a low voice call from behind me. I swivelled my chair around and looked forward at the source of the voice, the second of the two Majors from the hangar. I nodded for him to continue, and he walked towards me.

"I have been told you are a great swordsman. Would you like to spar?" He asked. I nodded and stood up.

"You have command, _Stealth Major_." I said, looking sidelong at Cynthia, who was wearing black Elite armor with a heavy active camouflage membrane on her back. She nodded slowly and got up, moving to the captain's chair. Walking to the red-clad Major, we walked down the hallway into the main concourse, which instead of some chairs and lights had a small dueling circle. Apparently, 'Zehirae had wanted it installed, so he removed all of the chairs and decorative lights the Jiralhanae had set up and put down the circular mat and some oil lanterns.

Walking to the wall, I flipped a switch to activate the lanterns before turning around with my sword hilt drawn. I took out two of the sword training buffers from a compartment on the wall, that would deactivate the sword if the enemy was in danger, and handed one to the Major. I attached it to the end of my sword and looked at him. The Major, unlike some other Elites, was unfazed at the sight of Vorpal Talon, and drew his own sword hilt in response. I activated my sword and held it to my chest, the pointed ends extending towards him with the end of the hilt a few inches from my face. My other arm was extended out in front of the sword, my right hand flat and straight. He activated his sword and held it at his side, his mandibles loose as he examined my stance. In a matter of seconds, the Major changed from his calm and collected self to a cunning swordsman.

I dodged his first strike, ducked down and swung at his leg while running sideways. He jumped back and blocked with his sword. On the back of my belt, I remembered the first energy blade 'Sacleous had given me when I was healing, and activated it quickly before swinging my arm around to strike with it. Two blades strong, I jumped back to the edge of the ring with my swords extended at my side, watching the Major as he balanced his hilt on the other palm of his hand in front of him.

"Outnumbered, I may be, but outskilled I am not. You are sloppy, human. You hold your swords loose, and do not watch your enemies. Even now, you're looking at my face and not…" he dashed forwards, "...my hand." He swung forwards and I barely dodged his sword. I parried the strike and jumped as he slashed at my legs. I swung madly with Vorpal Talon to get him back, and in the midst of it, I made lightning fast strikes with my other sword where Vorpal Talon was not.

"The UNSC trained me with melee weapons and stealth. I am an expert in kenjutsu and fencing, and in my time studying _your_ weapons, have become quite good with an energy blade. Do not underestimate me, and I won't underestimate you."

"Wise words for a demon." He sneered, stabbing forward three times. I dodged the first two and ducked under the third, all of them aimed at my chest and head. While he was whirling around to make a fourth attack, I lunged forward and 'stabbed' my sword into his abdomen, my blade deactivating while emitting a beep to signify the end of the match. The Major, stunned, looked down at his stomach before staring me down. He tried to say something to accuse me, and he raised his sword threateningly, but faded away when I reactivated Vorpal Talon.

"You have had your spar, Major. Go back to your station." I ordered, uncomfortable with the commanding tone I had taken on. I had vowed not to order the Elites around for fear of revolt, but in this case, the Major was just being stubborn. I turned my back to him and walked out of the door back to the bridge, Vorpal Talon still drawn. 'Zehirae looked up when I stepped onto the small bridge and smirked.

"I will assume he threatened you, and then tried to spar again." He asked as I retook the captain's chair, finally deactivating the Talon and sticking both of my swords on my belt.

"You would be correct. How do you know?"

"Ah, I know that Major well. 'Vucorik was always rebellious, and questioned my orders often. His stubbornness almost earned his commander the Arbiter position, which _at the time_ was still the most dishonorable rank you could attain."

"Why was it dishonorable?" I asked, instantly regretting it when 'Zehirae looked down in what seemed to be sadness, and D'Suvai flinched and glanced at me with his mandibles shut tightly. Mizume sighed and stood, stepping into the center of the bridge to speak.

"It is a story told by mothers to their children to scare them from splitting away from the Covenant. Four hundred years ago, Fel 'Chavam… _ee_ , the legendary Arbiter of the time, defied the Prophets, and refused to accept the Great Journey - how right he was. And, although holding the highest and most esteemed rank a Sangheili could earn, he was branded a heretic. Instead of executing him immediately, they sent him into an ambush, where he faced off against two thousand soldiers and won, but was then taken down by one of his brothers. Following that tradition, every Arbiter since then has been a high-ranking officer that was branded heretic that they sent on suicidal missions. Thel 'Vadam was the only Arbiter to survive his mission in four hundred years." Mizume explained, looking up at the ceiling as if recalling a memory. D'Suvai had turned around his chair to listen to the story, and Cynthia had leaned forwards in her seat, quite interested. Even Arcus had appeared, obviously recording the conversation to document it.

"I didn't know it was a touchy subject, I'm sorry for asking." I replied quickly. 'Zehirae let out a breathy laugh and sat back down leaning back in his chair to swing himself back around to type on one of the computer consoles by him.

"It isn't, I just never expected to be telling a human such a thing in my lifetime." He said, looking at me with a smile. I laughed back and put a hand to my chin.

"Well, I think 'Zehirae and I can take care of the ship, so… you two should get some rest." I announced, looking over at D'Suvai and Rivers. The two combatants nodded and stepped off of the bridge, the large purple door closing behind them.

"This isn't the best of ideas, Zachary, and you know it."

"I know it's a bad idea."

"A bad idea? It's a _horrible_ plan."

"Yours were worse. Right now, this is the best bad plan we have." I took a breath and swiveled my chair to look at the glowing sphere of the deteriorating Covenant AI in the corner.

"Arcus, prep the long range transmitters."

"Already done. All transmitters have been primed for immediate remote activation."

"Good. Our ETA?"

"Forty-seven minutes."

 _Slipspace en route to Thocela IV, December 19th, 2552…_

I woke up from a short nap to 'Zehirae pushing my shoulder. Groaning, I looked up and he jerked his thumb towards the door.

"It is time to begin, Zealot Major. We have three minutes before we exit slipspace." He reached to the back of his belt and produced a small black box. "Simply press the small button on the top and let go of it, and it will scan the whole area around you, capturing an exact 3D model of the dreadnoughts."

"What about my Ranger armor?" I asked, gesturing to my _open-faced_ helmet. "I'm not going to survive in space for long, and I left my helmet air mask back in my quarters on the _Recompense_."

"Ranger helmets will fit you. Your armor will be good enough for the time being, so just go over to the armory with Major 'Vucorik, Major 'Tshama, and D'Suvai to suit up. I would leave your Needle Rifle behind, but bring your blades."

"Agreed." As if on cue, the Major I had sparred walked into the room and gestured for me to follow him as the other Major and D'Suvai stepped in. Going down the short hallway quickly, we turned left near the aft of the ship and went down a small ramp into a room bordering a hangar large enough to hold four Banshee fighters. Held vertically from the ceiling facing down, the Banshees looked ominous in the dim light of the hangar.

The room we had entered was a bare armory, with two suits of Elite Ranger armor and a few weapons. I picked one of the two Ranger helmets off of the wall and held it under my arm while I took off my own Zealot helmet and placed it where the one I grabbed had hung. Placing the white armor piece over my head, I waited for its sensors to adapt to me before nodding to the Major. It was mildly disorienting, since because the helmet was meant for Elites, the HUD and the visor was five inches in front of where _my_ face ended, and I actually needed to squint to see the small numbers representing the shield percentage. Stepping out of the armory into the hangar proper, I noted the fact that next to the Banshees were the transmitters, piled in crates hung by small wires connected to the ceiling, ready to be dropped off.

Just as I had felt when I had dropped in pods with D'Suvai and 'Tarqi, it was almost entrancing how the elements of slipspace moved around the ship, the silvery-blue lines of the slipstream kind of like strands of hair being brushed against the craft. I was shaken from my thoughts as the second Major, still fidgeting, walked up to the first and snapped his mandibles at me.

"Are you ready, human?" 'Vucorik asked, tilting his elongated head to the side as he looked at me. Once again, I nodded, and he walked over to the wall and placed his hand on a small box, a keyboard lighting up. Tapping on it, the already dim lights deactivated. I raised an eyebrow, but didn't do anything. The other Major, however, tightened his grip on his Energy Sword hilt, and checked the corners of the room. Suddenly, the intercom crackled to life, and Arcus' voice filled the room.

" _Now exiting slipspace."_ Was all it said, and as soon as the communications turned off, the frigate entered real-space again. Suddenly, 'Vucorik lunged from the wall with his sword drawn and slashed at D'Suvai and I. Both of us dodged the strike, and we both drew our blades, but the other Major was not so lucky, caught in the head by that strike. He fell with a wet thud, and I crossed Vorpal Talon and 'Sacleous' sword together in front of me before jumping forward, pushing off of the small metal lip around the edge of the clear shielded hangar door. 'Vucorik jumped back from me and raised his sword to block as I attacked, thrusting my sword in front of me.

"Major! Explain yourself!" D'Suvai yelled, raising his sword at 'Vucorik as we stood in a circle, wary of each other. 'Vucorik flared his mandibles and laughed, lowering his guard slightly.

"The Swords of Sanghelios are a rebellion who will be quickly destroyed by the Covenant. It has been tried before by the Unggoy. You know how that ended, with almost the complete annihilation of their species had it not been for the Sangheili Councilors." He looked at me. "And _you_ , heretic, plaguing the minds of my fellow brothers and kin with your ideas and plans. You caused this."

"If you believe a lone, injured SPARTAN that is missing an arm and lacks the knowledge of the Covenant you have is a threat or hindrance to either yours and Fleetmaster 'Varliemai's plans, then you are false. I simply follow their command, not my own."

"And who came up with the plans for the last two battles? I'm a bridge officer, _nishum_ , I know who's doing the talking. To have a being ordering a Sangheili superior who does not belong to a Keep is a disgrace. There is no _Reynards_ Keep, nor is there a _Zachary_ Keep. You are an _outcast_ of your species, an anomaly, a _disgrace_ to your family and honor. If it weren't for the fact that the humans are our eternal enemy, I would think that by killing you I would be doing them a favor."

"Then we will respond in kind." D'Suvai uttered bitterly, stepping forward slowly. Growling deeply from his throat, 'Vucorik kept his mandibles flared as he watched his opponent. I stood off to the side, not wanting to interfere with what was already known as a sacred tradition of dueling. But, instead of engaging in combat as both what I had seen before and from what I had studied, 'Vucorik broke off and slashed at me. Me, being completely caught off guard, barely dodged the first strike, but not the quick, unexpected second. It sliced through my helmet, the energy tips barely missing my face as I attempted to jump back. My HUD, the Sangheili translator, and the air pack for the Ranger helmet were all destroyed. Falling to the ground with the shattered glass visor shards falling around me. Into the room from the door behind me came 'Zehirae, who had his sword active as he grabbed me, yelling to me in Sangheili.

" _Kahboonoh, eennteeyuhkoh, kahboonoh se keeoh-eesay!"_ Mizume shouted, before pushing me towards the door and quickly engaging 'Vucorik in combat with D'Suvai. Ripping off the useless helmet and brushing glass shards out of my hair, I kept my swords active and walked back to the furiously fighting Sangheili in front of me. 'Zehirae ducked under a quick stab from the Major and struck upwards, his sword barely missing 'Vucorik's sword hand. Charging forward with his sword at his side, D'Suvai made three quick strikes at 'Vucorik, one of which connected with his left leg armor. 'Vucorik roared in rage and stabbed forward suddenly, striking D'Suvai in the chest. The tips of the sword went through his back, and he fell in an instant. The room was silent for a split second before both 'Zehirae and I yelled out and came down on 'Vucorik with a hailstorm of erratic attacks. 'Vucorik was now cut down easily, and my swords passed through him multiple times. His cries were silenced as Mizume made a final slash at his head before letting his limp body fall to the ground. Running to D'Suvai's side, I lifted his head as he looked weakly from me to 'Zehirae.

"Arcus, make a slipspace jump back to _The Servant of Recompense!"_ I yelled out to the empty hangar. Not that I had noticed from the shock, but a large pool of purple-green blood had spilled around my knees as I tended to D'Suvai, and a cascade of emotions were flooding my head. From the loudspeaker, the Covenant AI made no acknowledgement for some reason, and on the surface I did not know why, but deep down I did. _That translator was my only port to understanding anything I hear and see. Without it, I do not know what anyone is saying, and vice versa._

In a weak form of broken English, D'Suvai muttered to me, "Save the others… complete the _mission,_ " before closing his eyes and weakly letting out a final breath as he fell limp in my arms. 'Zehirae watched from behind me, his mandibles clasped shut with his sword at his side. From all of the sadness that had filled me second before, an unending rage came.

"'Zehirae, please get me another Ranger helmet and open the hangar shields. I'm finishing this."

" _Dohmoh'Eenngahnehnn._ " Mizume addressed me as he walked over to the armory again and came out with another gray helmet with a blue shielded visor, handing it to me. Brushing a small trickle of blood from a glass wound from my last helmet's shattered visor, I put this one over my head, activating the translator and air pack. Stepping forwards to the lip of the ventral shield, I looked 'down' at the space outside and took a deep breath of the thick air in my helmet. 'Zehirae caught his breath and pressed a button on the wall, lowering the shields. In an instant, I was not in the hangar any longer, nor were the crates of the shipboard transmitters. Looking back at the _Xerxi_ , I watched as hundreds of glittering objects spread into the blackness of space, small red lights adorning their slender purple surfaces. Smiling thinly, I watched as they all activated, my HUD lighting up with yellow 'friendly' dots as the FOF tags on the transmitters began broadcasting. Now to wait.


	15. A Mysterious Message

**Chapter Fifteen: A Mysterious Message**

 _Thocela IV, December 19th, 2552..._

I sat in space thinking, my body angled towards the dark, barren world before me. My swords hung from my belt, and the object 'Zehirae had given me tethered to my arm. It had been forty-five minutes with no sign of the enemy warships, but the mission was still a go -- so said Mizume -- for another two hours. The air tank in my armor was running steadily at eighty-nine percent, and the space around me was calm, almost… tranquil. It had only been four days I had been allianced with the Swords of Sanghelios, but with all of the fast-paced experiences I had had with D'Suvai on the multiple missions I had been on, I'd already become attached to the Sangheili soldier. He was a friend. Unlike Aor 'Tarqi, who had rebelled just as badly as 'Vucorik, 'Vucorik had drawn the last straw. 'Vucorik killed my friend, and one of my few allies within the Sword ranks. Suddenly, ripping me from my thoughts, the communications line crackled to life, filling my helmet with static for a brief moment.

" _You okay, Zachary?_ " Cynthia asked timidly, her face appearing on the side of my HUD as she spoke.

"Yeah, fine. How's the _Xerxi_ doing?" The Sword Frigate in question was over a million miles away, tucked around the dark side of Thocela IV's moon with its unneeded systems powered down.

" _Well… from what I can interpret out of the Covenant systems, the fuel levels are well and the shields are holding. We're good for another forty days in space._ "

"If it were up to me, I'd be sitting back in a beach house on New Adelaide, but it's only a wish." Of course, I had never been to New Adelaide, nor been in a beach house, but what a SPARTAN did not experience was their greatest want, beyond combat and beyond Earth. Cynthia sighed and the metal joints on her chair creaked as she scooted forward.

" _It would be nice, wouldn't it._ " She stated, her voice drawn out and tired. After the sudden deaths of 'Vucorik and D'Suvai, the three remaining personnel aboard The Pride of Xerxi were completely out of the original cheeriness they had held. I flexed my hand out in front of me, and a small fleck of the shiny, red metallic paint on the outside of my armor came off, shimmering in the light of the nearby star as it drifted off. Suddenly, an orange light blinked on my HUD.

"What was that?" I asked, suddenly ready for combat. Cynthia let out a breathy laugh.

" _Just your suit needing to level off the power supply. Here, just deactivate your heaters and it should stabilize._ " She explained. Using my eye to activate the buttons on my display, the constant heat I had been getting from the armor membrane on my back diminished, and all I had was my body heat.

"How long do I need to have them off? It's bloody cold in here." Indeed, in mere seconds frost had begun nipping at the edge of my blue glass visor.

" _Uh, I don't know. Field Marshal, do you?_ "

" _Keep them off for ten minutes. The suit interior will only allow the temperature to drop to twenty degrees before the solar heat absorbers kick in._ "

"Good." I replied. Something caught my attention from the corner of my eye, moving across my vision quickly -- a Covenant long-range slipspace probe. "Cynthia, get ready for my data."

" _Copy that. We're powering off the comms to shut down the radio channels. Stand by._ " Rivers replied, before her voice fizzled out to nothing. From the same portal the probe came out of, two gargantuan dreadnoughts appeared, emerging into real space from the slipspace dimension. They blocked out Thocela IV's star, and I was shrouded in shadow as the three ships made their way across the night. I pressed the button on the device, and it scanned the area around me. It beeped, and I set it back on my belt, watching the ships closely.

My communications broke into static as it reactivated. Thinking it was The Pride of Xerxi, I called out for them to turn off the radio, but instead I was met with a very alien voice.

" _Heretic. SPARTAN. Reclaimer. Three names given to you. Three paths you could choose. Your kind has brought our peoples war and poverty. Our leaders suffer to understand your logic. We have come to eliminate you, soon. But we won't. Not yet. We will wait to see which path you will choose._ " The voice explained in a calm, almost melodic, fashion. I didn't dare turn on my return comms, and after about a minute, the opposite end closed the channel, leaving me in silence as the ships turned around and left as soon as they had come.

'Zehirae pulled me into the ventral hangar and tore off my helmet, letting in the fresher and warmer air into my suit. Taking a few moments to breathe, I looked up at Mizume and smiled thinly.

"Did you get the scan?"

"No. They jammed the signal just as I was downloading it. They knew the Xerxi was there."

"That's… unlikely. We were in full cloak"

"As I said before, the San'Shyuum have made many technical advances since the war first started." 'Zehirae leaned against the wall behind him and sighed, letting his mandibles droop as he relaxed them. "As of this moment they are ahead of the Sangheili in every way possible except their own physical strength."

"Without the model of the dreadnoughts we have no way of knowing how to attack them. And if what you say is true, they knew our ship was here even though it was in tactical stealth mode."

"We need to contact Fleetmaster 'Varlemai and the Imperial Admiral and tell them about this."

"Not yet. Can you trace their slipspace track?"

"I can. What are you planning?" He queried, looking at me questioningly. "If it involves going head-on with those dreadnoughts the answer is no."

"What? No, nonononono. All we're going to do is drop a stealth probe in their slipspace channel and watch them."

"Fine. I'll contact Rivers and get it prepped. I don't want them tracking the probe back to us, though."

"If they do, then I have a plan for it. But for now, we should get back to the fleet."

"Agreed."

 _Deep Space, Sword Assault Carrier Servant of Recompense, December 20th, 2552…_

With a loud thud, the metal clamps above the Xerxi grabbed the hull, locking the frigate down in a stationary position along the four kilometer long ventral hangar of the Recompense. As 'Zehirae, Cynthia, and I walked over to the extending ramp to the elongated catwalk protruding from the wall of the hangar, I noted that not only was the Fleetmaster and the Imperial Admiral present at the end of it, but also a figure cloaked in red that was just as tall if not taller than 'Te Misakan. Slowly, the three of us walked down the ramp to meet with the other trio.

"Were you successful in your mission, Zealot Major?" Fleetmaster 'Varlemai asked quickly, shifting his stance as I walked up to him and looked up at his face. Shaking my head slowly, I handed the black device to him. He pressed the button, and a warped, distorted hologram that would have been transferred to the Xerxi had it not been jammed and corrupted appeared, filling the dark hangar with a light blue light. Turning, the Fleetmaster handed it to the one clad in red, who I got a better look at as they reached out a hand to take the device.

Golden armor, plates layered above each other to cover a maroon bodysuit. A large golden headdress with intricate carvings adorning its long form. One humongous blade hilt set upon a leather belt held up by a silver loop. With a heavy breath, the enormous Elite stepped forward to me, his chest plating not hiding a branded mark on his chest above his heart.

"So you are the human I have heard so much about. Zachary… Reynards." He said slowly, in a voice deeper than I had heard in a long time. This Elite, unlike most others, had no trouble saying my name, and an air of intimidation surrounded him. I stood firm.

"I am, sir."

"Such a human term." He paused and looked down at the hologram. "I have little time. I must return to Earth soon when my ship is repaired. But, since I am here, I will say this to you. I will tell your superiors you still live, and that they should send reinforcements. But just know that in your absence, the Human-Covenant War ended, and neither side has many forces to spare. The objective of this fleet, Persistent Solidarity, is of utmost importance, and I have only had the best leading it. I am trusting you, human, as I have trusted only one other, to lead my men with honor and conviction. Do not disappoint me." He ordered me, staring down at me with a confident gaze.

"I will, but... I must know who you are?" I asked curiously. Obviously, the others held him in high regard, and the Elite in front of me smiled.

"Thel 'Vadam." He replied bluntly, before turning to the side and gesturing me forward. "We must discuss our next move before I leave for Earth again. This fleet is one of the few functional task forces I have left in our continuous war against the Jiralhanae and the San'Shyuum."

I stood looking over at Zachary, the SPARTAN, as he came down the ramp of The Pride of Xerxi, myself positioned diagonally behind the Arbiter himself, and the Imperial Admiral. When he walked up to me, I thought of what I was going to say, and simply asked a question.

"Were you successful in your mission, Zealot Major?" I had to notice that D'Suvai was not present with them, nor were the two Majors. Both Zachary and 'Zehirae's swords were deactivated, but obviously out of charge, since their hilt's intricate carvings did not glow blue -- or in Reynards' case, orange -- like when they had power. They must have had a reason to kill them, and an honorable one if they had used their blades to execute it.

Without the accurate 3D model from this mission, all we had to go by was the original picture that was fuzzy and undetailed. It would all be assumptions as to where we would be attacking. When Zachary pulled out the device and handed it to me, I was hopeful, but was quickly dismayed at the broken and distorted form the model had come in. All of this was the Prophet's faults. They were better in almost every way possible. The Sangheili were on the defensive. If we were to attack without our intel, it would surely be suicide.

We only had a few sizable warships left; The only ships larger than battleships being _The Servant of Recompense_ , the _Empress's Efflux_ , the _Chaotic Tranquility_ , and the _Lancer of Sunaion_. Once Therisalli had fallen, we now had no other world to defend Sanghelios from, and if the Jiralhanae, the San'Shyuum, or both, found out about this, it might mark the end of our homeworld. Even with our alliance, I held doubt that the humans would send reinforcements, even though I kept telling myself they would. Zachary was a much better asset than I had anticipated. Ever since 'Zehirae had brought him aboard my ship, he has served me, his men, and his other superiors well, and… do I dare say it, I call him my friend. No. He is an ally, not a friend. Our war has lasted too long for me to enact friendship so soon.

Thel 'Vadam was only here to survey what was left of our fleet after the dreadnoughts first attacked, and was heading back to Earth to join back with his fleet once he was done. We are more vulnerable now than our ancestors were thousands of years ago when the San'Shyuum first attacked. We should have listened to Fal 'Chavam when he first spoke up. The Writ of Union should have never been signed. But I digress, it is our time to finally strike back at our… captors, so we must make the best of it.

I followed the Fleetmaster, 'Vadam, and the Imperial Admiral, with 'Zehirae close in tow behind me. Down the long, curved hallways of the Recompense, we finally reached the war room and bridge, the Honor Guards visibly in surprise as the group of high-ranking officials approached them. The door opened, and we stepped in, surrounding the war room holographic table as 'Varlemai turned it on. I stepped to the front and looked on as he flipped through the holograms to one of the remaining fleet -- a mere seventeen capital ships -- and sighed. 'Vadam stepped to the side of the picture and frowned.

"Our forces are less than when we first joined the Covenant. Our men are spread thin, and our resources are scarce. Time is not our ally anymore, nor is luck on our side. To win this conflict we need hope, and a miracle. Fleetmaster 'Varlemai, scramble all fighters and escort corvettes. We are to sail to Earth. The humans may be able to aid us in our conflict, as much as it pains me to say it."

One by one, the bridge officers had begun turning their seats around to listen, and as soon as 'Vadam said that, it began a steady murmuring around the expansive room.

"Your grace, are you suggesting we take aid from these _kuhtahshee_ people? You may have made friends with them, but trust is not easily earned." The first officer interjected from the captain's chair in the center of the room. 'Vadam stood looking at him for a second.

" _Nou_ , brother, we go to the humans because they owe us. They owe us for protecting their world, and for siding with them in the darkest hour. There is only one human I would ever trust with my life." 'Vadam looked down. "And he is dead now."

"Pilots, set fleet course for Earth. 'Zehirae," Mizume looked to 'Varlemai, "gather my advisors. We are having a meeting."

"Yes, Fleetmaster." Came the reply.

"And Shipmaster," 'Varlemai stared at the first officer, "get this ship repaired. It would be a disgrace for the humans to see us in this state."

"Of course, Fleetmaster." He agreed, pressing a button on his armrest keypad.

The door to the bridge opened, and in came six tall Elites, clad in shining silver armor and high headdresses. They gathered around the holographic table, and it became quite cramped with the tall men circled around it.

"Majordomo 'Moram, go to the _Lament of Fury_ and ready the men, same with you, Majordomo 'Juran. I want someone to go to the _Empress's Efflux_ and speak with the Shipmaster on their status with crew, and anyone to see about the _Chaotic Tranquility_. Once we drop out of slipspace, we will hold position around the planet to conduct repairs on our smaller ships while the Arbiter goes down to the planet to speak with the humans."

"What of the _Lancer of Sunaion_ , Fleetmaster?" The advisor identified as 'Moram asked. I looked from 'Varlemai to 'Moram with great interest, as the only other time I had seen his advisors was the first time I had been brought onto the bridge.

"I already spoke with Shipmistress 'Chava last night. Her crew was largely unaffected from the first San'Shyuum attack, and is in top condition. What I am more worried about, however, is the status of our battlecruisers and escort ships. Corvettes are irrelevant to me, but what are our numbers?"

"The _Recompense_ itself is nearly depleted on deployable escorts, barring your _The Pride of Xerxi_ ," 'Moram looked to me, "and three others. Our other ships, particularly the _Lancer_ , as you said, are still stocked with battlecruisers and corvettes. The Efflux carries four torpedo destroyers, and several dozen corvettes, and the Tranquility has a large collection of different specialized cruisers. The only problem, though, is finding enough crew to man each one. As we all know, _The Servant of Recompense's_ crew is largely depleted, and the other ships need their excess men for repairs and manning the guns."

"A sorry state, we're in, but we must make do." 'Varlemai turned and looked at one of the bridge officers. "Artillery Master, what is the state of our weapon systems?"

"Fleetmaster?" He paused and leaned over his console. "Primary reactors are damaged, but Auxilliary has enough power to fuel our ship-to-ship weapons for over a year. All ships are at full hull strength, but the _Chaotic Tranquility's_ shields are down to fifty-four." The orange-clad Elite replied, standing at attention in front of a targeting computer.

"Then we can defend ourselves. Kaidon?" 'Varlemai asked, casting a glance at 'Vadam.

"I am confident you are able to protect yourselves, brother. I have changed my mind. Go back to Sanghelios and help our people. I will return with the _Shadow of Inten_ t and the rest of my fleet after I speak to the humans, and attend an… event. There is much to be learned from our new allies." He turned towards the door of the bridge. "I will leave this in your hands."

 ** _A/N_**

 ** _Hey guys, long time no see. This is a largely unedited chapter I wrote back in summer of 2017 that I never uploaded. I want to apologize for A. my lack of uploads and B. my overall lack of writing in general. Since I started high school this year (yay) my schedule has been more and more packed than ever before and I find myself with less and less time to crank out chapters like I used to. Just makes me wish FanFiction wasn't limited to just... well, fanfiction. I have so many projects I want to share with you all that don't involve Halo, RWBY, Destiny, or Life is Strange._**

 ** _That being said, I will continue this story when I can, and will attempt a re-edit of this entire thing sometime (because to be honest the first few chapters I wrote in seventh grade, they suck major ass)._** ** _-Lex_**


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